New Reporter in Town
by Sierra Rose 22
Summary: Alissa is at it again as she goes against Adam's wishes and becomes the first woman reporter on the town's newspaper. Lots of chaos ensues as this independent gal goes undercover in the local saloon to check out a story. Warning: possible spanking. #10 in series
1. Chapter 1

All recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. All original character and plots are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**New Reporter in Town**

Alissa has become quite bored and it can only mean trouble as she drags her best friend along for the ride as they investigate some recent robberies.

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Alissa moved the statue of the bronze horse and dusted underneath as she mumbled to herself, "This is what I am destined to do with my life now… dust, clean and help Hop Sing with the laundry! This sure isn't what I envisioned for my life when I was in school. I was going to be a crack reporter that broke the big story and all the networks would want my scoop!"

Ali let out a heavy sigh as she headed for Ben's desk to attack the dust that had accumulated since her last cleaning.

"Now the only story I could break would be what Hop Sing is having for dinner."

Slowly moving over to the window by Ben's desk Ali peered out at a ranch hand coming out of the barn. She watched him cross over to his horse, mount up and ride away. As she turned and came over to Ben's desk, a frown slowly formed on her face as she commented dryly, "Well, that used up about two seconds. What fun things shall I do next?"

Ali shrugged and started dusting Ben's desk rather lazily till her eyes spotted the Virginia City Gazette lying across the corner of his desk.

"Let's just see what interesting things are happening in the big city," she quipped, as she sat back in Ben's chair and scanned page one.

"Hmm…the price of beef has gone up...that's good for the Cartwrights. Miss Sally Johnson will probably win the quilting bee again this year. Way to go Sally! Old Jeb's bull got out again last week and did some damage to farmer McIntire's cornfield. Way to go bullie! Sorry, farmer McIntire, I am sure you didn't think it was funny, but it just makes me laugh when I imagine a bull running through a cornfield with a farmer chasing him."

Ali grinned and brushed a lock of hair off of her face as she turned the page looking for more riveting news.

"Ginny Mae Johnson's hens have been having trouble laying ever since the Murphy twins lit off some fireworks by her hen house. Yeah, that might put a kink in the old works…sure would put the hens off for a while," she giggled, as she turned to the last page.

"Good grief, the excitement in town is really more than I think I can handle," she commented dryly as she rolled her eyes.

"Here I thought it was boring for me at the house when Adam is out on the ranch working, but the most excitement I could find in town this week might be watching Ginny Mae chase the Murphy twins through town with a broom!"

Letting out a rather loud sigh, Ali continued reading as she slowly moved down the page. She was just about to give up on finding anything worthwhile until she came across a news article that peeked her interest. Leaning forward slightly Ali started concentrating on the article.

"Well, this looks interesting," she noted excitedly, as she folded the paper in half and focused on the article. Moving around until she got more comfortable in Ben's large chair, Ali tucked her feet under her and sat back as she read the article out loud.

"A rash of recent robberies have left Sheriff Coffee and his deputy baffled. Local town folk have reported having items taken from their homes and barns. Even the Bucket of Blood reported having glasses and bottles of liquor missing. Hmm, I guess the robbers like to drink too!" Ali grinned, and continued to read the article.

"Sheriff Coffee is at a loss as the robber or robbers have not left any clues."

Ali set the paper down as a sly look came across her beautiful face, and a devilish twinkle appeared in her bright green eyes as she started to carefully form a plan about what her new job might be. I think getting a job on the newspaper is just what I need to help liven up my days. After all, I was a journalism student so it is right up my alley. I bet I could uncover what is going on…and get a good story to boot! And who knows she smiled, I may even fine something to help with my boredom! But then the smile was quickly replaced with a frown as she picked up her feather duster.

"Now all I have to do is convince Adam and Ben that I need a job to keep me busy," she muttered, as she ran the feathers from her duster across her hand.

Ali eventually stood up and resumed dusting Ben's desk as she continued talking to herself while straightening some of Ben's papers.

"Of course convincing those two stubborn men will be like trying to move this house…I doubt that they will budge at all on this issue and neither will this house!"

Ali wrinkled her nose, "I guess I am going to have to give this idea some thought on just how I will get a job on the paper _and_ how I can get around Ben and Adam—especially Adam! He is very opinionated in what he thinks a proper woman should and shouldn't do."

Rather annoyed at that thought, Ali kept dusting the desk as she continued to talk to herself.

"I am sure he will be even more stubborn in his opinion on what his fiancée can do. And working at the newspaper in town is probably not on his list of things for a proper lady and a future Cartwright to be doing."

Ali started to giggle when she thought of her stubborn man.

"What is it that Little Joe always calls Adam when they get into an argument…oh yeah…Yankee granite head! He is definitely one stubborn man! But I know how to get around him," she said confidently, as she lifted her chin slightly.

Walking over to the table by the fireplace, Ali started taking out her frustrations as she dusted every inch of the table with the feather duster.

"Those two are a force to be reckoned with and this isn't going to be easy, but I am up for the challenge," she declared enthusiastically, as she held her feather duster high in the air like a sword.

"What, missy, say?"

Hop Sing had come into the room and was watching Ali with a worried look on his face as she held her duster in the air.

Ali blushed when she realized she had an audience. "Oh nothing, Hop Sing."

Hop Sing shrugged his shoulders and turned heading for the kitchen. "Missy say crazy things all time!"

"I know, Hop Sing, I know," Ali laughed, as she moved some things around on the large table and continued with her dusting, all the while planning on how to set the wheels in motion for her new job.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sunday was a beautiful summer day and everyone was enjoying the church picnic. The members of the church finance committee had auctioned off the ladies' picnic baskets to get money to buy a new church bell. The one the church had was adequate, but not very loud. The parishioners wanted this new bell because it was louder and had the most beautiful sound to it. The preacher had announced that they were half way to the amount they needed with the proceeds from today's auction, and the church fair coming up next month might just be what they needed to fulfill their dream.

Of course Adam had outbid everyone that had bid on Alissa's basket. Deciding ahead of time that he wasn't going to let anyone else enjoy her company, he had bid the most of anyone here today. She had several men bidding on her basket, but when Adam decided he had waited long enough, he bid $15.00 and the bidding immediately stopped.

After Adam collected Alissa's basket they walked hand in hand over to a large tree to enjoy their picnic lunch. As Adam spread out their blanket Ali casually commented, "Adam, you really shouldn't have bid so much money for my basket!"

As he straightened the blanket Adam couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and smile, "It was for a good cause and I got tired of the bidding and decided I needed to put a stop to it."

Giving Ali one of his dazzling grins Adam quipped, "Besides, no one is going to eat a picnic lunch with my girl—but me!"

Ali smiled happily as she sat down on the quilt under the large old tree and proceeded to remove food from the picnic basket. Adam slowly eased his way down onto the quilt till he was reclining on his side as he watched Ali place the food on the plates.

With a playful glint in his eye Adam couldn't help but ask, "So, little one, did you cook the food for the basket?"

"Of course I did, sweetheart," Ali smiled, as she handed Adam a plate.

Arching his brow ever so slightly Adam warned, "Alissa…"

"Oh, very well. Hop Sing made the food, but I packed the basket!" she added proudly.

"You don't want to get sick at the picnic, do you? If I cooked the food that is probably what would happen!"

Adam chuckled softly, "Alissa, what are you going to do when we are married and in our own home? Hop Sing can't cook then. Don't you think it is time you learned to cook?"

A brief twinkle of hope came to Alissa's eyes as she looked over at Adam.

"Well, sweetheart, when the time comes I thought you could hire a cook and housekeeper."

Shaking his head Adam declared firmly, "Not a chance, Alissa, so you better start some lessons with Hop Sing soon."

As a look of disappointment suddenly appeared on her face, Adam leaned in closer and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before settling back and grabbing a piece of chicken off his plate.

Alissa crossed her arms and pouted, "Yeah, like Hop Sing teaching me is going to happen. He barely lets me in the kitchen now, Adam. After all this time he still blames me for the little gun incident. I don't think he will ever get over that!"

While starting to nibble on a cold biscuit Ali couldn't help but glare as she heard Adam let out a low chuckle.

"Yes, that man can hold a grudge for a long time. But I will talk to him and try and smooth things over and tell him for the sake of my stomach, you need to learn to cook! Now let's eat this lunch…I am starving!"

After they had finished eating and Alissa had packed what was left into the picnic basket, she lay down on Adam's lap and closed her eyes. Adam started humming softly while he began to play with her hair. He loved Alissa's beautiful long hair and never passed up a chance to run his fingers through its silky softness. Soon the sound of the breeze as it gently blew through the trees plus Adam's soothing humming was slowly putting Alissa to sleep.

"Hey there, little one, are you sleeping on me?" Adam leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

"Mmmm…that is a nice way to wake up. Promise me you will wake me every morning with a kiss after we are married."

A wicked grin came to Adam's lips as he answered, "Oh, I will… and a whole lot more!"

"Why you cheeky…"

Alissa didn't get to finish her sentence as Adam gave her that delightful wink of his and then quickly pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. Not just a gentle kiss either, no, this kiss caused a delicious fire that started with her lips and gradually swept through her as it warmed her like a balmy summer breeze when it caressed her body.

As their lips slowly parted he gazed into her eyes and whispered against her mouth, "I love you, Alissa, with every breath that I take and every beat of my heart. For without you in my life my heart will no longer beat, and as a flower dies on the vine when it is without water… so would I without your love."

Adam slowly leaned down to bring his lips to hers once more but suddenly stopped as he noticed Alissa beginning to cry. She looked up into Adam's eyes as her own eyes filled with tears and a lone teardrop slowly slipped down her cheek. Adam reached down and gently wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"Sweetheart, why are you crying?"

"Because that is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. You have the gift of a poet when you speak, Adam. No one has ever said anything that beautiful to me before and what you just said makes me cry with happiness."

Alissa smiled as she reached up and gently caressed the cleft in his chin, something she always loved doing whenever they were in each other's arms.

"If I didn't love you more than life itself before, I sure do now. You have made my heart sing with your wonderful words, Adam, and when I am in your arms I feel safe and loved. Just being here in your arms feels like home to me, and now I know this is where I truly belong."

Adam smiled as he slowly brought his lips to capture her waiting mouth in one more passionate kiss, and soon they became lost in each other's embrace as the warm summer breeze gently caressed the leaves on the branches above them.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Alissa was lying in her bed watching the morning sunlight slowly move across the bed as she remembered Adam's kisses from the day before.

When she brought her fingers to her lips she softly muttered, "Oh that man can certainly curl a girl's toes with his kisses. So much so that I can't stop thinking of his soft full lips on mine… especially while I am lying here in bed. Mmm, yesterday was such a lovely day wrapped in his arms out under the tree and I so enjoyed our picnic."

Smiling contently Alissa stretched wanting to stay in bed all morning dreaming of her handsome man. But if she wanted to have breakfast with that handsome man, she had to get up. So she threw back the blue and yellow quilt that had kept her snuggly warm last night and quickly placed her feet into the slippers by her bed. Frowning she contemplated what she had planned for today.

"Adam was in such a good mood yesterday, but after I go into town and hopefully get a job on the newspaper…that mood is going to go south!"

Grabbing her dressing gown off of the bed she eventually went over to the washbasin and poured out some water to wash her face. After she set the pitcher down, she looked into the mirror. The sleepy eyed girl looking back at her was certainly not the same person who had come on this journey so many months ago. So much had happened to _this_ girl since she had walked through that unusual door in the gift shop.

This girl could saddle and ride a horse, muck out a stall, shoot a gun (okay, maybe not shoot very well yet) and even churn butter. Of course that was the extent of her success in cooking, and at best it was still a work in progress. But that really didn't bother Alissa too much as cooking just wasn't her thing. No, the most important _thing_ that had happened to her since coming back in time was falling in love with Adam Cartwright and agreeing to become his wife.

As a dreamy look settled across Alissa's face she kept daydreaming of her new life. Too bad our engagement party had to be postponed, but I wanted to wait until Adam was fully recovered before we have the party. And he did promise me to stay off of wild horses until _after _the party, she thought smiling.

Picking up her hairbrush Alissa began brushing her long hair.

"Ohh, this long hair of mine is such a pain to keep care of out here. It is always getting tangled. I need my expensive conditioners so badly. Maybe I will cut it short," she pondered, as she continued trying to get the tangle out.

"I wonder what Adam would do if I cut my hair real short? Probably have a fit! And oh the ladies in town would all have apoplexy," she giggled.

"You know what else is a problem for me from time to time besides this long hair?" Alissa asked, with a bit of a pout as she pointed the hairbrush at the mirror.

"It is that oh so sexy, drop dead gorgeous man that I am in love with. You know he is the poster boy for stubborn and opinionated men! And the fact that his opinion is completely and only his makes no difference to him. And I know one of his opinions is that women should only be able to do certain things outside of the home. And I am pretty sure getting a job on a newspaper is not one of those things!"

Grinning slyly Alissa reached for her perfume bottle and dabbed a small amount behind each ear.

"Hmm, this task may be a little more difficult for me to get around Adam… but it is doable," She smirked.

Setting the perfume bottle back on her dressing table Alissa continued having this one-way conversation with her mirror.

"So Miss Alissa Marie Anderson, just how _do_ you plan on explaining having a job on the newspaper to your fiancé _and_ Ben? They will absolutely blow a gasket, you know. Of Course I haven't even gotten the job yet, so maybe I should worry about that first and deal with Adam and Ben later. Okay Ali, that sounds like a plan."

Alissa stood up and saluted herself in the mirror before she went over to the dresser to finish getting ready to go down to breakfast.

TBC

I know this chapter was rather long, but I just couldn't find a place to stop once I got started. Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Ben and Adam were the only two left at the table when Alissa came downstairs. Both men stood as Alissa approached the table and Adam helped her with her chair.

As Adam leaned down he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Did you sleep well, my love?"

"Mmm…never better, thank you."

"What are your plans for the day, Alissa?" Ben asked, as he set down his coffee cup.

"Oh, I thought I would go into town and see about some new material at the dressmaker's shop. I hear they got some lovely new fabrics in last week."

Alissa smiled nervously knowing that she was telling a small lie to cover looking for a job. She _really_ was going to look at the fabric along with looking for a job, so it wasn't a total lie. But she also knew how Adam felt about lying, even if it was a small one. Ali grimaced as she remembered their discussion the last time he caught her in a lie, and that didn't bode well for her backside. Oh well, I will just put that little incident out of my mind she decided as she sipped her coffee.

"That's nice, Alissa. Hop Sing and one of the ranch hands are going to town for supplies today, so you can ride with them because you know how we feel about you riding alone," Ben commented casually, as he folded his napkin and placed it on the table now that he had finished his breakfast.

Adam slowly leaned over the table and looked over at Alissa with his eyebrow arched. "That means you don't even think about going alone, Alissa. Do I make myself clear?"

"Don't you cock your eyebrow at me, Adam Cartwright," Ali declared indignantly, as she tipped her chin slightly and frowned.

"Well I just know how your mind works, young lady. And if you can get away with going to town alone and not waiting for Hop Sing and the ranch hand…then I know you will try it because you love taking off on your own."

Trying to look interested in what Adam was saying Alissa rested her elbow on the table with her chin pressed up against her hand and did her best to not roll her eyes at him.

"Virginia City is still a little wild at times and it just isn't safe for a woman to go to there by herself, Alissa. The women living in town have their fathers, brothers or husbands close by to watch out for them. But if you go by yourself, we are miles away and can offer little help if you find yourself in trouble…which by the way is something you do tend to do. We only want to keep you safe, sweetheart."

This time Ali couldn't help herself as she rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. Her look didn't go unnoticed by Adam as he added with a tight frown.

"I am warning you right now, you better do as I ask and not defy me on this or I will be very displeased. And you really don't want to deal with me when I am angry, Alissa."

Standing up from the table Alissa picked up her dishes and gave Adam an impudent grin. Then she went to his side and bent down and kissed him on his cheek. But just before going into the kitchen she made a face at Adam and stuck out her tongue then said playfully, "Oh no, we certainly wouldn't want to make Mr. Adam Cartwright angry, would we?"

She tried to stifle her laugh but to no avail as she started to turn to go into the kitchen. But just before she made it to the safety of the kitchen, Adam reached out and gave her bottom a sharp swat right before she could get out of his reach, and Alissa's eyes widened in disbelief as she grabbed her backside.

"Hey, watch it, buster!"

Adam scowled as he said sternly, "I am serious, Alissa! We don't want you going alone."

"Very well, Adam. I will go with Hop Sing…happy now?"

Then she turned and hurried into the kitchen after making her last comment just in case she was close enough for Adam to reach her again.

Ben couldn't hold in his laughter any longer as he looked at his eldest son.

"Your life with Alissa is never going to be dull, son. She is certainly a handful and I don't envy you trying to keep her safe from all the things she tends to get into."

Adam smiled as he touched his hair. "You're telling me. I have already started to get gray hairs and I know she is to blame for each and every one of them!"

Three hours later Hop Sing, a ranch hand and Alissa rode up in front of the mercantile store. Hop Sing helped Alissa down from the buckboard and started to go into the mercantile when he realized Alissa wasn't going with him.

"Isn't Missy going with us in store?"

"No, you go on ahead, Hop Sing. I have things to do over at the newspaper office and then check on some new material."

Hop Sing just shook his head as he mumbled, "Very well, Missy," and went on into the store.

An hour later Ali emerged from the Virginia City Gazette. That went well she smiled proudly, and now I am the first woman reporter for the Gazette. I will get paid $3.00 for my first story about the women's sewing bee coming up on Friday. So now all I have to do is convince Adam and Ben to let me keep the job she thought as she stepped into the street.

Soon a cunning smile came to her lips as she started thinking about plans to investigate the burglaries. I will let them think I am covering the sewing bee but I really will be looking into the recent thefts that have been going on she decided.

Ali adjusted her hat as she headed towards the mercantile store to meet Hop Sing and the ranch hand. As she walked across the street she began thinking about how she really couldn't do this next undertaking alone. I definitely need a partner in crime to help me with my investigation, and I know just the gal to do it… Jessica. My friend Jessica was one of the gals that helped me last year with the march to vote, so I know she will be up for this exciting adventure. That is if she can get away from home. Her father was none to pleased with me after the last mess I got his daughter into. He had a few choice words for me when he bailed her out of jail. But I know, Jessica, she is up for anything no matter what the consequences!

Finally getting all the plans straight in her mind, Ali grinned as she saw Hop Sing and walked towards the buckboard thoroughly excited about her new job.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Later that evening while the family was gathered around the table for dessert, Alissa decided to share the news of her recent employment. She smiled cheerfully as she placed her napkin on her lap.

"Well everyone, I have the best news to share with you all. I got a job on the newspaper today!"

At the sound of her news Ben choked on his coffee and hurriedly put down his coffee cup. After he regained his composure he exclaimed, "You did WHAT?"

"I got a job on the newspaper today," Ali answered simply, as she looked across the table at a frowning Ben.

Joe just let out his infectious laugh and commented; "I think that is just great, Ali. What will you be doing?"

"I will be their very first woman reporter and my first assignment is going to be reporting on the sewing bee contest. Of course I will want to get into more serious news as soon as I can because the possibilities are just so exciting!"

"Why, Ali gal, that sounds plumb wonderful," Hoss added between mouthfuls of food as he delved into Hop Sing's apple pie with his usual enthusiasm.

Ali slowly glanced over the table to see what kind of look Adam had on his face and was met with a dark scowl.

"You can't be serious, Alissa… this will never do. I can't spare one of the hands to go to town with you while you are working in town. And none of the family can go that often either. It just isn't a good idea. Adam, just what do you think of your fiancée getting a job?" Ben finally asked, furrowing his brow as he looked down the table at his eldest son.

All eyes were on Adam as he frowned slightly and cleared his throat. Then he stood up and dropped his napkin on the table.

"Alissa, outside now please. I would like a word with you in private."

Joe grimaced remembering his private talks with his brother and whispered under his breath, "Oh, oh, poor Ali."

Adam turned on his heels and went to the front door and opened it. He stood by the door waiting for Alissa to join him, but she just continued to sit at the table eating her dessert.

"Now, Alissa!"

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Adam."

"What did you say?" Adam asked, as he felt his patience wearing thin.

"Nothing, sweetheart… I'm coming."

Ali smiled then placed her napkin on the table and stood up as she let out an exasperated sigh. As she walked to the front door a devilish twinkle appeared in her eyes.

"Round one," she muttered, as she went out the door ahead of a very upset fiancé.

After they walked outside and stood for a moment, they eventually went over by the porch. Ali sat down in one of the wooden chairs but Adam was too upset to sit and started pacing back and forth in front of Alissa.

"You have done some outlandish things since you have been here, woman, but this beats them all! Just what do you think you are doing, Alissa? Women aren't supposed to work on a newspaper. That is a job for men! Not to mention the fact that no fiancée of mine is going to get a job! People would think I wasn't capable of supporting you, and that certainly isn't the case."

By now Adam's temper was starting to rise along with his blood pressure as he stood in front of Alissa with a dark scowl on his face waiting for her to answer. But just as she was about to answer him, Adam started in on lecturing her again.

"Furthermore, it could be a dangerous job with you in town by yourself. There are a lot of wayward cowhands that come into town from time to time and I can't be away from the ranch all those times to protect you!"

Adam suddenly turned and glared at Alissa as it dawned on him what she had said about more serious news.

"What did you mean in the house when you said you would get into reporting on more serious news? Just how serious and dangerous would that be?"

Alissa shrugged her shoulders and gave Adam a deliberately cheeky grin. "Oh, I don't know yet, but I am _very_ good at finding exciting stories."

The muscle in Adam's jaw twitched ever so slightly till he finally declared, "That's it, my mind is made up and you will NOT be getting a job that could possibly put you in harms way and that is final, Alissa!"

The whole time Adam was pacing and lecturing Alissa she had a slight smile on her lips.

"And just what may I ask is so damn funny, young lady?" Adam asked, as he stood in front of Alissa with his hands on his hips.

Alissa grinned as she answered, "You, Adam. You are just so damn funny when you get angry and start pacing. I thought you were going to have steam coming out of your ears at any moment!"

Ali had to cover her mouth as she started to giggle. Adam sucked in his breath when he heard her comment as he leaned in towards Alissa and frowned.

"Don't swear, Alissa!"

A slight smile came to her lips as she smirked, "Why not…you do when you are angry, so why can't I?"

"Because…because you are a woman and proper women aren't supposed to swear! I thought we covered this before, but I guess I didn't give you enough incentive to make a lasting impression."

Ali stood up and came over to stand in front of Adam. Of course she only came to the middle of his chest and wished she was taller so they could face each other instead of her facing the top button on his shirt. But she raised her chin in pure defiance as she prepared to do battle with her stubborn, bossy man!

"Just like women aren't supposed to work on a newspaper, right? You men in the 1800's are all such chauvinists, and you are right up there at the top, Adam Cartwright! Just what am I suppose to do with all the free time I have if I can't get a job? Besides, a woman reporter can do just as good a job as a male reporter on the paper, so there!"

Alissa stomped her foot and crossed her arms in front of her to emphasize her point of view, although that did seem rather childish. But she didn't care as she let her fiery temper quickly surface.

Adam suddenly looked puzzled, "What do you mean… men in the 1800's?"

Alissa shrugged her shoulders and waved her hands as if dismissing what she had said, "Oh nothing…I just meant men in general."

Feeling a major headache coming on Adam rubbed his temples as his eyes narrowed at Ali pinning her with a firm glare.

"Well, you better find something else to do because you are definitely not getting a job and that is final! This discussion is over! And if you think about defying me on this, Alissa Marie, you will find sitting comfortably a thing of the past as the discussion we have _next_ time will _definitely_ make a lasting impression!"

"Don't you go threatening me again, Adam Cartwright!" Alissa declared, as her green eyes flashed her anger.

"Oh that is not a threat, Alissa. That is a promise, so don't put me to the test…because you will loose!" Adam curtly replied, as one of his dark eyebrows rose threateningly.

"Oh that makes so much sense, Adam Cartwright. You would injure my backside because you don't want me to put myself in situations where I could get injured!" Ali taunted, glaring back at him with as much insolence as she could muster.

"Besides, I have already told you that I am too old for that kind of thing," Ali argued, crossing her arms firmly across her chest.

"Obviously you and I have a difference of opinion on that little matter, young lady," Adam noted dryly.

Alissa just scowled at Adam as she leaned in slightly and shouted, "WE CERTAINLY DO!"

Suddenly it was very quiet as she and Adam stood glaring at each other waiting for the other one to start yelling again. Finally Adam decided he needed to cool off before he ended up following through with that threat right now, and he turned on his heal and headed for the barn to brush down Sport. One thing about it, Sport's coat was certainly looking very well groomed lately because every time Adam and Ali had a disagreement, Adam would head to the barn to take out his frustrations by brushing Sport.

Ali watched him storm off as she walked over and kicked at the woodpile to let off some of her own anger.

"Oh go suck a lemon, you arrogant, bossy man!" Ali grumbled, as she watched some of the logs roll down onto the ground.

When one of the smaller logs rolled and bumped her foot she bent down and picked it up and was getting ready to throw it. Then she remembered the broken window incident and decided that probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do with her great aim. Ben wouldn't be so understanding this time she decided as she laid it back down on the ground.

"You may think that this is over, Adam Cartwright, but it is just beginning. I will keep my job on the newspaper and furthermore I will find out who the robbers are and bring them to justice! I will just have to figure out a way to do all this without you finding out, and that may take a little more thought on my part."

Ali grinned confidently as she headed for the front door to go up to her room and make plans for her latest venture.

TBC

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I want to thank all the memebers and guests that have reviewed...I appreciate you All!


	3. New Reporter in Town Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Three days later Alissa rode into town with Little Joe on the pretence that she wanted to visit her friend Jessica. Of course she really did want to see Jessie, but not just to visit. She was going to tell Jessie her plans and hopefully between the two of them they could come up with a way of investigating the robberies.

"This sounds rather dangerous, Ali. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Jessica and Alissa were sitting on the front porch sipping some lemonade deciding what plan of action they were going to take to try to solve the robberies.

Ali grinned as she took a bite of cookie. "Don't tell me you are going to chicken out on me, Jessie."

"Never! You know me. I am always up for a new adventure. My life was so dull until you came into town. There has been so much excitement in my life since we became friends. I am always up for taking on something new with you, and I can certainly bet if you are involved…it will definitely be exciting!"

Jessie grinned rather sheepishly as she continued, "Although, our last little adventure sure did get me into a lot of trouble with my father. I couldn't sit a horse comfortably for a week…he was really mad! Was Adam really mad at you?"

Ali grinned as her green eyes twinkled, "Oh he yelled an awful lot while we were in the barn after the march, that is for sure! That man can definitely yell when he gets angry."

Laughing softly she added as she winked mischieviously, "And I do tend to bring out that man's temper… probably more than anybody else he has ever met."

Reaching for her lemonade Ali took a small sip and continued on.

"But after he bailed me out of jail he told me how much he loved me…and then he proposed to me! Can you believe it?"

As Ali set down her glass of lemonade she let out an exasperated sigh, "Men, they can be so hard to figure out sometimes."

Jessica had to stifle a laugh at this comment knowing how much trouble Alissa had given poor Adam over the last year. But she loved being right in the middle of some of Ali's escapades, even if she did feel sorry for Adam sometimes trying to keep up with her. After all, when you went along with Alissa you never knew what was going to happen, but you always knew it would be memorable!

Ali started twisting a curl around her finger as she grinned, "Besides, I know how to handle Adam. I just let him do his yelling and get it all out of his system… then he eventually settles down."

Flicking a crumb that had landed on her lap, Ali wrinkled her nose as she reluctantly added, "Although he did a little bit more than yell the morning after the march. At breakfast he told the family we were engaged and everything was going wonderfully until Sheriff Coffee came over. Then everything hit the fan!"

Jessie looked confused as she asked, "What fan?"

"Oh never mind, Jessie. The point is Ben was fit to be tied once the Sheriff told him everything!"

Ali frowned as she rolled her eyes, "Ben was all ready to warm my backside good for practically starting a riot in town and slugging Mr. Collins. But then my Adam stepped in and told Ben he was my fiancé now and I was his responsibility."

Ali's eyes twinkled as she added with a lopsided grin, "He's my hero!"

"Oh, Ali, that is so romantic," Jessie sighed and smiled dreamily.

"Yeah you would think so, but the little talk we had later after the family left was not romantic in the least. Apparently my romantic hero was not impressed with me at all."

Ali blushed slightly as she took another bite of her cookie.

"Oh, you must tell me everything, Ali."

"Let's put it this way, Adam was not the least bit happy that I had put myself in danger AGAIN, not to mention the little lie I had told him."

Ali Shrugged as she swatted at a fly that flew in front of her face.

"You know he is really big on not being lied to. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that a person should lie, but I don't think a tiny little lie _sometimes_ is really that big of a deal if it is for a good reason, but apparently he sure does!"

Sighing heavily Ali said, "He decided to take out his displeasure on my backside and informed me that putting myself in danger and even a little lie just won't cut it with him. So now you have the story. Some of it was romantic and some of it…not so much."

"Oh Ali, I had no idea you had finally pushed that poor man to his limits. You know you were very lucky up until then to not have felt his anger. And with all the things you have gotten into, I am surprised he waited that long."

"Hey, don't feel sorry for the guy. After all he is a big boy and can take care of himself…even from me."

Ali giggled as she watched Jessica pour another glass of lemonade. After Jessica set the pitcher of lemonade on the table, she turned to her friend with a very serious expression on her face.

"Ali men are real funny around here and expect women to do what they are told. Especially if they think they might be putting themselves in any danger. They are very protective of the women they love. And I know Adam sure does love you.

"Yeah, I know. But this bit of obeying men is strictly for the birds, and besides, whose side are you on anyway?" Ali asked, as she frowned slightly.

"Why yours of course, but you have to admit that you have done a lot of things that most women around here would never even think of doing. So I am sure you have worn the poor man's patience out."

Jessica laughed and dodged Ali's hand as she tried to pinch her.

"Hey, be nice. Besides, if you are ready to try and find out what went on with the robberies in town, then it looks like he hasn't changed your attitude in the least as far as doing what you want when you get an idea in your head."

"That is true. You know I hate to admit it, but it's kind of fun to get Adam all riled up sometimes. He is awfully sexy looking when he is angry," Ali grinned wickedly and winked at her friend.

"He gets all macho and those beautiful eyes of his start getting dark. It really is quite the turn on."

"Oh Ali, the things that you say. What does macho mean? And what do you mean by turn on?"

Al couldn't help but laugh out loud when she realized her friend probably wouldn't have heard those expressions before.

"It means he gets all masculine and full of himself. And turn on means he makes me swoon."

"Huh?"

"Oh never mind, it is hard to explain. Let's just say to me he looks very handsome and appealing, alright?"

"Yes, that I understand. I hope to look at a man like that some day too."

With a determined set of her chin Ali declared, "Bottom line though is that no matter how attractive and how much I love that man, I still have to do the things that I feel are important to me whether he wants me to or not. Sometimes he just worries too much I think. After all, I have been telling _me_ what to do for a long time now and I am still in one piece. So I guess I have been giving myself some good advice so far, right?"

"I guess so."

"And now that we are engaged, I have Adam wrapped around my little finger and know just what to do when he gets too angry."

Both girls burst into a fit of giggles and didn't hear Joe ride up in front of the house.

"Really, Ali…does Adam know this?"

Joe was just quietly sitting on his horse listening until he heard Ali's latest comment and then he just had to respond to it.

Looking a little uncomfortable Ali exclaimed, "Oh, Joe, you weren't suppose to hear that."

Joe pushed his hat back on his head as he laughed, "Obviously! So are you about ready to go, Ali?"

"Yes, but you are early and Jessie and I still have a lot to talk about. Couldn't you wait a little longer to head back to the ranch?"

"Yeah, I guess I could go and have a beer over at the saloon. I'll be about an hour, but then you better be ready because I need to get back to the ranch."

Joe grinned and tipped his hat, "Ladies."

"Thanks, Joe. I promise to be ready then."

As Alissa was sitting there watching Joe ride off, she suddenly turned and grabbed Jessie's hands in excitement. "This gives me the best idea, Jessie."

Jessie looked puzzled, "What does?"

"Joe going to the saloon. That is the first place I need to ask questions. I will go and interview the bartender. I will tell him I am from the paper and I need to ask him a few questions?"

Jessica just shook her head and smiled.

"Right, Ali. Proper women can't even go into the saloon. And even if you got in, I doubt that the bartender would even talk to you."

Alissa grinned smugly as she said, "Well, maybe Alissa and Jessica can't go into the saloon… but Sam and Frank sure can!"

"Who are Sam and Frank?" Jessie asked, as she looked totally confused at where this whole conversation was going and was beginning to think her friend was a little crazy.

Alissa stood up and shook Jessie's hand. "Glad to meet you, Frank…my name is Sam!"

Jessica started laughing till tears started to run down her face.

"Oh, Ali, I don't think we could ever pull off being men. We have too much up here to pass as men." Jessie pointed to her chest as she made her last comment.

"Don't worry, Jessie, I got it all figured out. We will bind our chest and then we can borrow some of your brother's clothes. He is out on the range with Adam right now and he won't even know they are gone. Well, my friend, what do you say? Are you in or out?"

Alissa put out her hand to her friend as she waited to see what she would do. A broad grin came to Jessica's face as she grabbed her friend's hand in a firm grip shaking it up and down.

"You have a partner in crime, Alissa! Let's go solve this case!"

Later that evening Jessie and Alissa were in Jessie's room putting on her brother's clothes. Alissa had told Joe she was spending the night with Jessie so she was covered as far as being in town. Adam was out on the range with Jessie's brother Tom and wasn't expected back until tomorrow. And with Ben visiting a friend, all of her bases were covered and she and Jessica could start to put their plan into action tonight!

"My brother's clothes are swimming on you, Ali. You look more like a little boy than a man," Jessie laughed, as she was trying to roll up the sleeves on her brother's shirt.

"That's all right, I will just be your young side kick. You are a lot taller than me and with your dark hair; we can make a mustache for you. We couldn't do a whole lot for my face to look older so that will work out even better."

Soon both girls got finished and looked in the mirror to admire their handy work.

"Well, Jessie, what do you think? Do we look like men?"

Jessie giggled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. "All I got to say is… it is a good thing it's really dark in the saloon, because we sure don't look like any men I have ever seen!"

Both girls laughed as they pulled their hats down low on their heads and headed out the door. A few minutes later they stood outside The Bucket of Blood Saloon trying to get the courage to go inside.

"Well, Frank, are you ready? I have my pencil and pad here to take down any notes that I get from the bartender."

Alissa pulled her shoulders back and stood up straighter, hoping to try and look taller as both girls headed into the saloon.

TBC

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Thank you all so much (guests and members) for all the reviews on the last two chapters. I am so tickled you are enjoying this! Please keep them coming as I love to hear from you.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As Ali started to go into the saloon Jessica quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her to the wall outside by the swinging doors.

"Are you sure you want to do this? What if Adam or my brother find out?" Do you think you are ready to deal with Adam if he does find out, cause I sure don't think he will be real understanding no matter how much you blink those long lashes at him."

"Oh stop your worrying, Jessie, I have this all under control. I told you I can handle Adam, and I always have Hoss to fall back on to protect me if Adam decides to dust my backside. He has saved me on more than one occasion," Ali laughed and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Besides, they are both out on the range tonight so we are in the clear. You really need to chill out, girl."

"I am not chilly in the least as it is quite nice out tonight," Jessie informed her, as she rolled up her sleeve again where it had fallen down her arm.

Ali just rolled her eyes and looked heavenward, "Geez Louise, I am never going to get use to _you_ people not understanding half of what I say. It really is draining on a body to have to watch what I say around you guys."

"Huh?"

Ali grabbed Jessie's arm and pulled her towards the door. "Forget what I said… let's just get going before I change my mind."

Pushing open the swinging doors both girls slowly walked into the dark, smoky saloon and stood quietly surveying the room.

"I sure hope there aren't a lot of people in here tonight. Course I can't tell cause it really is dark in here," Jessie mumbled, as her eyes adjusted to the darkened room.

When they first walked in all eyes were on them as the men looked up to see who was coming through the swinging doors, but after a few moments everyone went back to their drinking and gambling and totally ignored the two strangers who had just walked in.

"Do you recognize anyone, Jessie?" Ali whispered, as she nudged Jessie in the side.

"I sure don't want someone that knows us to discover who we really are. And I don't see Joe anywhere. I wonder where he is?"

Ali pulled her hat down lower on her head hoping to disguise herself just incase there was someone that might recognize her even with men's clothes on.

After quickly scanning the room Jessie softly whispered to Ali, "I don't recognize anyone so far…I think we are safe. Just remember to lower your voice when you speak. I sure hope those long eyelashes of yours won't give you away."

"Come on, Jessie…you worry too much."

Alissa pulled Jessie along by the arm as they walked up to the bar.

"Good evening bar keep. I will have a whiskey and my friend here will too," said Jessica, in her lowest voice.

The bartender eyed Ali warily then he laughed. "Why you ain't old enough to drink, little fella, and I don't serve milk!"

"Very well, bar keep, then serve me a whiskey and nothing for my friend," Jessie said nervously, as she threw a coin on the bar.

The bartender just shook his head and turned around to grab a whiskey bottle and a glass. He poured Jessie a drink and started to turn around when Alissa grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Hey bartender, what is your name?" Alissa asked firmly, in the deepest voice she could come up with.

"My name is Jim. Why do _you_ care?"

"Hey dude, I am just trying to be friendly. What's with the attitude anyway?" Ali grumbled, as she glared at the bartender.

"What did you call me, you little squirt?"

Jessie could see that the bartender was getting mad so she tried to defuse the situation quickly as she knew how Ali's temper could surface at any moment.

"Uh, my friend here works for the newspaper and he just wants to ask you some questions," Jessie said smiling, hoping that the bartender would cooperate.

Jim snickered as he quipped, "You don't look old enough to work on the newspaper, boy. What do you do, deliver the papers?"

"That's cute, but I really do work for the paper! I just look young for my age. Now then, what all did the robbers take?" Ali asked casually, as she straightened up trying to appear taller than her 5'1" frame.

Jim just shook his head but finally answered Ali's question.

"They took two bottles of my finest whiskey and four glasses. It really is quite odd. There was money in the till and they left that. Sure seems like real stupid robbers if you ask me."

"Are you sure that is all they took?" Ali asked, as she was hurriedly writing all this down.

"That is what I said, ain't it? You calling me a liar?"

The bartender scowled and leaned over the bar as he eyed Alissa closer.

"You know you got a bad attitude!" Ali declared angrily, as she pointed her pencil in his direction.

Jessie moved swiftly as she stepped between Ali and the bartender hoping to keep Ali from losing her temper and telling off this very rude bartender. But Ali just moved Jessie aside so she was standing right in front of the bartender glaring.

"You keep giving me sass young fella, and I just may take you down a peg or two."

"You just try it mister, and I'll…"

Jessie quickly interrupted, "So that is all they took, huh? That sure is interesting, sir."

"Yep, that was all they took. Now I have work to do, so drink your drink and leave me alone before I kick you two out on your butts."

Jim frowned at the girls and walked away. "Works on the newspaper… I seriously doubt that," He grumbled, as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Alissa that temper of yours is going to get us both in trouble, now just calm down so we can finish and get out of here. I don't think that bartender is going to let us stay much longer now that you got him all riled up."

Ali took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I know, my temper always gets me into trouble. But that idiot deserves a punch in the nose! If my Adam was here he would certainly put him in his place."

"If Adam was here the bartender isn't the only one he would be putting in their place. Did you happen to think of that?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that," Ali laughed. "Anyway, let me finish my notes and then we will get out of this smelly saloon."

After Ali finished writing her notes she turned and started to look around the room all the while thinking of what the bartender had told them.

"Well, Jessie, why do you think the robbers only took the whiskey and glasses and not any money? That sure seems strange."

Jessie had her glass of whiskey to her nose and sniffed it. Then she slowly put her tongue in the glass to taste it.

"Hmm…this doesn't taste too bad."

Alissa frowned as she looked at her friend. "Concentrate Jessica Lynn! We are here to investigate, not get drunk!"

Jessie rolled her eyes and set the glass back on the bar.

"Oh very well, but it still tastes rather interesting."

"You know, Jessie, I wonder if maybe those robbers are teenagers out for a good time," Ali wondered out loud, as she started to chew on the end of her pencil.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because, I was just thinking about a time my friends stole some liquor and got drunk. They didn't take anymore than they needed to get drunk."

Jessica's eyes got as big as saucers as she exclaimed, "You stole and got drunk, Alissa?"

Ali shook her head, "No, I didn't get drunk. The friends I was with sure did though. Boy, were they hung over the next day. It was too funny! I thought the place they took the liquor from belonged to one of their family members. I didn't know they stole the liquor till the next day. Anyway, the point is they only took what they needed…nothing more…just like the robbers. So maybe the people involved are kids."

Jessie grinned, "This is getting so exciting! What should we do next, miss lady reporter?"

Ali slowly tapped her pencil against her chin as she was contemplating her next move.

"I think we need to interview some of the other victims. Let's get out of here and go to one of the houses where they had some items stolen. It is still a little early and we will have time to at least interview one more victim."

Just as Ali and Jessie started to turn and leave the bar, a big man with bushy red hair put out his hand and stopped Ali.

"Hey, little fella, where you going in such a hurry? You sure are a cute little guy. Does your mama know you are out this late?"

The man turned and let out a loud laugh as the rest of the bar joined in.

Alissa slowly looked the man up and down with as much distaste as she could and then said in her most annoyed voice, "Kindly unhand me, mister!"

"Did you hear that? Aren't you just a little small to be talking like that to your elders, sonny? Didn't you learn no manners?"

After his last comment the large man reached over and grabbed Ali by the shirtfront and lifted her up onto the bar and set her right in front of him so they would be eye level.

"Now then, maybe I need to teach you some manners, sonny."

Ali wrinkled her nose as she declared, "No, what you NEED to do is take a bath…YOU STINK!"

Jessie just shook her head as she said nervously, "Oh, Ali, don't let your mouth run away with you like you always do. He is three times your size and doesn't look too happy with you right now!"

"He doesn't intimidate…"

"Why you little brat. I'll show you what I think of your insults."

Before Ali could finish her sentence the man suddenly grabbed Ali by the shirtfront and quickly sent her sliding down the bar! The men at the bar were all suddenly grabbing their drinks hoping to save them as Ali came sliding by. But the last man at the bar was too involved in drinking his beer to even notice Ali. That is until she knocked his beer out of his hand as she sailed by him and landed on the floor in a heap with his beer all over the front of her shirt.

By this time Jessie had seen enough of the big oaf abusing her friend and grabbed a whiskey bottle that was on the bar. She raised it over her head and brought it down as hard as she could on the red headed man as he stood there laughing with his back to her.

"How dare you hurt my friend, you big bully!" she yelled.

The red haired man slowly rubbed his head and turned around to see who had the guts to hit someone his size.

"Oh, so his little friend wants some lessons in manners too, do ya?"

He headed toward Jessie scowling, planning on giving her some of the same instruction that he had just given Ali. But just when he started to reach out and grab Jessie by the shirt, he felt someone jump on his back and start hitting him upside the head!

Ali had just stood up when she saw that the red haired man was heading in Jessie's direction and decided to do the only thing she could think of to try and stop him—she jumped on his back!

"You stinking, overgrown ape…don't you even think of hurting my friend!"

Well by now the whole bar was getting interested in what was going on and before long another fistfight had broken out. Then another—and within minutes most of the inhabitants of the bar were either fighting or yelling at the men fighting. The red haired man was too busy to notice the rest of the bar as he was trying to get Ali off of his back. But she was holding on for dear life as he kept turning around trying to grab a hold of her shirt to try and pull her off.

Jessie had decided to come to the aid of her friend again so she started kicking the man in the shins. He quickly quit trying to grab Ali and reached for his abused shin as he started to holler at Jessie.

"Why you little…ouch! He just bit my ear!"

Ali had leaned over his shoulder and bit as hard as she could when she realized that the man was going for Jessie again. Now this was about all this man was going to take from these two as he reached up on his shoulder and angrily grabbed for Ali—only managing to get a fistful of her hat. But as soon as she lost her hat, Ali's long blonde hair came tumbling down around her shoulders along with the rest of her as she fell to the floor with a thud right in front of his feet.

The look on the man's face was one of total shock as he exclaimed, "Why you ain't no boy…you is a girl!"

TBC

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I am so thrilled with the amount of readers that are enjoying this story. Thanks so much for letting me know!

You can't help but admire Ali's sassy ways and fighting spirit, but you have to feel a little sorry for Adam too. After all he is the one who has to usually bail her out of her predicaments! _But don't tell anyone, he wouldn't have her any other way._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Little Joe dismounted Cochise and tied his reins to the hitching rail in front of the saloon. He had been detained a little as he had run into an old friend and they had caught up on recent events. So he was particularly glad he had been delayed when he saw his brother and Tom come riding into town.

"I'm sure glad I ran into you two tonight. I could really use a beer… and it is going to taste even better now that older brother here is paying," Jo grinned.

Adam just raised his eyebrows at that comment but then slowly smiled at his younger brother.

"Yeah, we finished up early and thought a cold beer would be real nice before we headed for home," Tom said wearily.

Joe slapped his brother on the back as he, Adam and Tom headed into the saloon. Adam suddenly stopped before he went through the swinging doors.

"Sure sounds like a rough night in the old saloon tonight. I wonder what is going on?"

Just as he said that a man came sailing out the swinging doors right in front of the three men and they all had to quickly step to the side or get knocked down.

Little Joe laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Boy, you ain't kiddin'…sounds like a free for all. Let's go check it out!"

As Adam followed Joe and Tom into the saloon he was greeted with a whiskey bottle flying through the air and crashing at his feet. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bar he was immediately drawn to long blond hair that looked like it was on a small boy who was trying to fight off a rather large man that had a hold of his shirt. Adam just shook his head and headed quickly over to the boy. He would recognize that long blonde hair anywhere.

"Oh, Alissa, what have you gone and gotten yourself into this time?" Adam muttered angrily, as he threw bodies out of his way as he headed for Alissa.

Tom and Joe had their share of fists to dodge and bodies to move also as they headed for the two boys. But Joe quickly figured out that it was not boys they were going to rescue, but Ali and Jessica as soon as he got a closer look and he urgently pushed his way through to get to them.

Alissa had her back to the men as she sat on the floor in front of the big oaf so she didn't see them coming towards her—but Jessie sure did! She saw Adam, her older brother and Little Joe as they all came towards them from different parts of the room shoving men left and right trying to get to the girls.

But as soon as Ali started to get up off the floor the red haired man suddenly grabbed hold of her shirtfront once again trying to decide what to do with her. Of course Ali was having none of his rough hands on her and started swinging angrily trying to punch his arms. Unfortunately all she got for her trouble was a wayward elbow to her left eye as the man tried to get her under control. Finally he just calmly lifted her off the ground and held her up by her shirt with her feet dangling in the air where she could do no harm. He didn't notice Joe come up along side of him because he was just too busy trying to keep Ali from kicking him in a part of his anatomy that was going to cause some awful pain if she connected.

Joe quickly drew his gun and stuck it under the man's chin as he said in a very low and threatening voice, "If you want to look at your ugly face in the mirror tomorrow mister, I don't think I would do that if I were you."

Swallowing the nervous lump that suddenly formed in his throat he immediately let go of Ali's shirt and she once again dropped to the floor with a yelp. Turning slightly so as not to make Joe accidentally shoot him, he smiled nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. As soon as Joe decided he had made his point, he holstered his gun.

"I didn't mean her any harm mister. I thought she was a boy just sassing his elders. I didn't know she was a girl! I was just picking her up now and she started swinging at me. So I just held her off the floor until she would calm down. She sure is one little hellcat!"

Joe just snickered at that comment and looked over at Ali and then back at the very large and rather disheveled man.

"Still no cause for you to man handle her whether she was a girl or a boy," Joe admonished the man, as he rested his hand on the handle of his pistol.

His gesture didn't go unnoticed by the red haired man as he swallowed and smiled nervously.

"Yeah but before you got here she bit me on the ear and hit me on the head. And her sidekick here kicked me in the shin and hit me over the head with a whiskey bottle!"

"Still not a very good excuse to hurt someone so much smaller than you, mister. Now get out of here before I change my mind and shoot you after all!"

Joe didn't have to tell him twice as he turned and headed towards the door to leave. I may be bigger than the man that just threatened me he thought as he went through the swinging doors, but that man had a gun and the look on his face said he meant business.

While all this was going down between Joe and the red haired man, Jessie had gone over to help Ali up and was looking down at her with a rueful smile. As she stood there facing Ali with what was left of her fake mustache starting to slightly droop down on one side of her mouth, Ali couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Jessie as she reached for her hand and easily jumped up while rubbing her abused backside from landing on the floor for the third time tonight.

"Dang, this landing on the floor is starting to get old. My butt is really taking a beating tonight," she groaned, as she rubbed her backside some more.

But once she was standing in front of Jessie she forgot all about her bruised posterior as she suddenly watched the color slowly drain from her friend's face. Jessica had just looked over Ali's shoulder only to be looking right into the eyes of her older brother and she knew from his look she was in big trouble!

At first Alissa had wondered why the big man had suddenly let go of her shirt and was pleasantly surprised when she had looked up from her sitting position on the floor to see Little Joe holding his gun under the man's chin. Joe had been the first one to get to the big man to help Ali because Adam was still fighting his way through the crowd, and so Ali hadn't seen anyone else with Joe. But now she realized Joe _wasn't_ alone when she saw her friend's face.

Jessica's expression said it all as she not only looked at the angry face of her brother, but she was also looking at the angry face of someone near and dear to Alissa.

"Adam is right behind me, isn't he?" Ali asked anxiously, as she watched Jessie's face. All Jessie could do was nod her head and try to smile.

Ali knew she was in big trouble now and all she could say was, "Damn… it just had to be Adam that saved us too!"

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"Well young lady, it seems like you sure do like my jail as you keep ending up here," Sheriff Coffee smirked, as he watched Adam sign the paper work to get Ali out of jail.

"Not really Sheriff, the decor in here needs a lot of improvement for my tastes," Ali said smugly, as she started to lean against the Sheriff's desk but quickly changed her mind when her tender backside protested. She still hadn't recovered very well from landing on the hard saloon floor three times already tonight.

"Miss Anderson, I can still lock you up if you keep getting smart with me! Don't think I won't," Sheriff Coffee warned, as he slammed his fist on the desk.

"Sorry Sheriff," Alissa answered softly, as she looked over at Adam.

The muscle in Adam's jaw tightened ever so slightly as he glared over at Alissa. She quickly looked away not wanting to meet his gaze as she knew she had probably pushed the man way too much already. And boy did she know that look! When the muscle in Adam's jaw flexed from him holding it too tightly, you just knew he was trying to hold on to his temper and if you were smart, you would head the other direction. Of course nobody ever said she made the smartest decisions when it came to not making Adam angry, but this was one time she did use her head and decided it was time to be quiet for once in her life and quit being a smart ass.

"Alright gentlemen, these two ladies are all yours now that you have paid their fines. Good luck with them. And for heavens sake… KEEP THEM OUT OF MY JAIL!" Sheriff Coffee ordered, as he gestured for them to all leave his office.

As they started to leave the office Adam reached over and turned Ali towards him carefully looking at her face.

"Alissa, you are starting to get a black eye," Adam noted, as he took her chin in his hand gently and turned her face towards him.

"I do! That is so cool…I never had a black eye before!" Ali grinned and touched the area around her eye till she found a tender spot and then winced.

"How did this happen?" Adam asked, as he examined her eye more closely.

"I imagine it happened when the big oaf and I had a tussle when he was grabbing my shirt," Ali shrugged and tried to smile at Adam. But he was having none of it as he let out a sigh of frustration and grabbed Ali's arm to lead her out the door.

As soon as Adam and Alissa came out of the sheriff's office with Jessie and her brother right behind them Adam turned on Alissa and started lecturing.

"What were you thinking being in a saloon full of men in the middle of the night?"

Ali looked up at Adam and grinned sheepishly, "Well…"

"Never mind! You don't think most of the time before you get yourself into a mess! I keep thinking you can't do something worse than what you have already done and yet you always manage to get into more trouble with another outrageous stunt!"

Adam ran his hands through his hair as he looked at Alissa and frowned.

"Do you know this is the second time that I have had to bail you out of jail in the last 6 months? What were you doing in there in the first place? And where did you get those men's clothes?"

Adam leaned in slightly and sniffed at Alissa. "Have you been drinking too? You smell like beer."

"Oh, that's a whole other story," Alissa smirked, with a cheeky grin until she saw Adam frown again. Then she lowered her head trying not to giggle.

"One that we will get into when we get home, young lady!" Adam responded sharply, as he stood in front of Ali with his hands on his hips.

Sitting near by on Cochise with his leg lazily bent over his saddle horn Little Joe couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Ali, you are something else… that even beats my record!"

Adam looked over at Joe as he narrowed his eyes. "You be quiet!"

Then he glared at the two young ladies in front of him and asked sternly, "What on earth were you two doing in a bar at this time of night? And why aren't you at home, Alissa?"

Both girls started talking at the same time. "We decided…"

Putting up his hand Adam declared, "Stop, I can't understand you if you both talk at the same time. Now you start talking first, Alissa, as I am sure it was all your idea. So let's hear it, young lady," he ordered, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned forward slightly pinning her with an angry frown.

He certainly can be a little intimidating standing there like that thought Ali, as she stood in front of him feeling very small. But it didn't take her long to find her voice and she started talking.

"Well, after I read in the newspaper that there had been some robberies, and since I work for the newspaper I just thought I… or we should investigate. I mean after all Sheriff Coffee doesn't have any leads so obviously he needs some help. And I _am_ very good at investigating!" Ali added, as she looked up at Adam and grinned.

Her answer didn't help in the least to make Adam feel any better about this situation, and he continued frowning at Ali till she looked over at her friend to see if she had anything to add to this little mess they had found themselves in.

But Jessica didn't have all the experience Ali had at getting out of trouble and she suddenly lost her voice as she kept looking at the ground till her brother pulled up her arm to get a better look at her shirt.

"Why those are my clothes you two have on!"

Tom just shook his head and grabbed Jessie's arm as he growled, "Let's get out of here, young lady. I will have a few more things to say to you when I get you home, and I just bet pa will too!"

With a playful twinkle in her eye Ali turned and called out to Jessica as she headed down the street with her brother, "Thanks for all your help friend."

Jessie looked back over her shoulder as her brother was pulling her along and winked, "Anytime, Ali, anytime."

"Well it certainly won't be anytime soon," Adam quipped, as he put his hand on Alissa's shoulder as he turned her around to face him.

"Do you realize the danger you put yourself in tonight? You were right in the middle of a bar room brawl…one that you started I might add."

"Well technically the big, red haired oaf is the one that started the fight. He grabbed me first and threw me down the bar. Jessie and I were minding our own business and everything would have been fine if he hadn't got his long johns in a twist," Ali insisted, as she tried to keep from grinning.

"I think what really got him angry was probably when I told him he stunk and needed a bath," Ali added, as she studied her fingernails noticing that she had broken a nail in the scuffle.

It was all Joe could do to keep from bursting out laughing at that comment and he had to hide his laughter behind his hand. But Adam was not amused in the least as he just shook his head and pinned Ali with an icy glare.

"No, it wouldn't have been fine because you two shouldn't have been in the saloon in the first place, Alissa! You could have been hurt badly and you are very lucky that a black eye is all you ended up with. And this certainly isn't the least bit funny, young lady."

"I think it is," muttered Joe under his breath. Unfortunately it was loud enough for Adam to hear.

Pointing his finger in Joe's direction Adam warned, "Don't you start with me, Joseph, because it won't be very hard on me at all to thoroughly tan TWO backsides before this night is over!"

Joe swallowed as he looked sheepishly at his brother. "Yes, Sir."

"Get on your horse now, Alissa. It is time we headed for home. I have a few more things I want to say to you in private when we get there."

Ali tipped up her chin and met his gaze defiantly.

"Not yet, Adam. I still have some things to investigate about the robberies. I think I have made some good strides and just need to interview a few more people tonight."

"At this hour? I don't think so!"

"It isn't late…it is only 9:30," Alissa argued, as she checked the time on her small ladies watch that she pulled from out of her pocket. It had been a gift from Adam and she wore it everywhere. Of course tonight she couldn't wear it on the outside of her shirt so she kept it in her pocket.

"For heavens sake Alissa, that is very late and most people will be in bed asleep!"

Ali just rolled her eyes at that and commented under her breath, "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting what year it is."

"What?"

"Nothing, Adam. But I still have some things to check out."

Adam was done talking and suddenly without warning reached down and swooped Alissa up in his arms and then firmly set her on her horse. At first she was startled as he wasn't very gentle in the least. But as soon as she got herself righted she started to get back off until Adam glared up at her.

His voice was deceptively calm as he warned, "Get off of that horse again, little girl, and I will tie you to it! Right after I take you over my knee!"

Alissa couldn't hide her temper any longer as she angrily crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed, "Men… you're all alike…way too bossy!"

"Be that as it may, Sheriff Coffee will take care of the robbers. I think you have done enough damage in Virginia City for one night! We are going home!" Adam insisted, as he headed for Sport.

Cautiously watching Adam head towards Sport Ali decided to try and get off of her horse one more time. But when Adam turned and gave her that look that she had seen way too often as he informed her, "Remember, I never make idle threats, Alissa."

Alissa stayed on her horse!

TBC

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Thanks again everyone who has reviewed. I so enjoy reading what you have to say about this story!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As soon as the front door opened and loudly hit the opposite wall with a bang Alissa started yelling. The ride home had been very quiet with no one doing much talking so Ali couldn't wait to let her pent up anger out and finally let loose.

"You are the most mule headed man I know Adam Cartwright! Why wouldn't you let me stay and finish what I started? I really think I was close to finding out who the robbers might have been. Oooh, you just make me so mad sometimes when you won't let me do what I want that I could just throw something at you!"

Alissa went over by the fireplace and started pacing back and forth. The more she paced, the madder she became. Adam and Joe had come in behind her and were standing by the front door listening to her rant. Joe decided this might be a good time to try and smooth things over between these two as he closed the front door.

"Does anyone want some coffee?"

"NO!" Ali and Adam both answered at the same time.

Joe just cleared his throat and shrugged, "Okay then, I'll just go and make me some. See you two in the morning."

Turning towards the kitchen Joe quickly headed for the safety of Hop Sing's domain. Once there he decided to forgo the coffee and just snatch some cookies instead. He thought about going back into the great room to see the fireworks that were going on between these two but finally decided against it. He figured Adam wouldn't really give him a tanning like he had threatened to do if he interfered anymore between him and Ali, but with Adam you just didn't want to push him. So after hearing a loud crash, he quickly grabbed the cookies and headed for some peace and quiet in the barn.

Ali continued pacing till she saw the smirk on Adam's face. Well that was all it took to finally set her off and she reached down and grabbed an apple out of the dish on the table in front of the fireplace. She began aiming one apple after another trying to land one of the apples on her smug fiancé as her fiery temper took over.

Of course Alissa's aim was totally off as usual, so unfortunately her choice of ammunition was hitting everything else in the great room but Adam.

A table lamp and a small vase of flowers became the first casualties as they both fell over with a loud crash. Adam looked at the damage and then over at Alissa as he let out a low frustrated growl and slowly started advancing on her all the while dodging the apples that she was attempting to throw at him.

When Ali saw that her little rant wasn't doing anything but making Adam angrier, she decided to go for something a little more substantial and went for the next thing she could get her hands on—a small figurine that was on the mantle.

"Alissa, stop this at once! You are acting like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum! There was no way I was going to let you stay in town and endanger yourself any further. Two young women alone in a bar full of men is just plain stupid! You have no idea how much danger you put yourself and Jessica in."

By this time Ali didn't want to listen to anything Adam had to say, even if it did make sense. Damn him, he had a point but she was still mad that she didn't get to finish what she had set out to do. And Adam was the reason she didn't get to finish with her investigation, so he could suffer her wrath she decided as she let the figurine fly as it barely missed his shoulder and crashed at his feet.

Adam just looked at the figurine at his feet and then narrowed his eyes as he warned her, "If you don't stop this childish behavior, I am going to put you over my knee and give you a sound spanking just like I would any spoiled brat that throws tantrums!"

"Don't you call me a brat!"

"Well that is what you are acting like! And if you wish to continue to behave like a spoiled child instead of calmly talking about what happened tonight, then I have no qualms with treating you like one!"

Planting her hands on her hips Ali scowled as she responded sarcastically, "Oh yeah, well my poor backside has been abused quite enough for one night. I landed on the floor three times already so it definitely doesn't need any more attention… thank you very much! And I am _not_ going to calmly talk because I am mad!"

"Very well, then your backside is going to get a lot _more_ attention before this night is over!" Adam declared, as he started slowly rolling up the shirtsleeve on his left arm and then followed with the sleeve on his right arm showing his muscular forearms. Then he narrowed his eyes and started heading in her direction.

Ali had watched Adam rolling up his sleeves and this little gesture didn't go unnoticed by her as she finally realized that the end result of this little outburst of hers was not going to end well for her in the least. She needed to quickly do something to distract Adam long enough so that she could hopefully escape to the safety of her bedroom and lock the door behind her. As Ali hurriedly looked around for something else to throw at Adam so she could try to make her escape, she spotted her next choice of ammunition and grabbed a book from the table. But just as she was getting ready to throw it at Adam she hesitated when she heard what Adam said next.

"I suggest you put that down, young lady, or you will be very sorry. I think you have damaged enough of this room tonight!"

Stopping on the opposite side of the table from Alissa, Adam crossed his arms in front of him as one of his dark eyebrows rose just daring her to continue throwing things.

"Now, let's talk about your recent behavior, shall we? I told you that you were not suppose to even think about taking that job on the newspaper. And not only did you go against me but you put yourself and Jessica in the middle of a saloon because you got some wild idea to try and investigate a story about the recent robberies. And just what does that have to do with a sewing bee, may I ask?"

"Nothing but…"

"Don't even bother trying to explain your way out of this one as it wouldn't change how upset I am with you right now. It is just one more thing that shows me you don't take me serious when I tell you something that I really don't want you to do because I feel there is a chance you may get hurt. I was concerned you would be in town by yourself if you took that job and I couldn't always be there to watch over you. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would find you in a saloon in the middle of the night in a barroom brawl!"

"It wasn't the middle of the night it…"

Adam held up his hand to silence her then raised his eyebrow in warning.

"And acting like a spoiled brat is definitely not going to work in _this_ house. The only thing it is going to do is get you put over someone's knee! And tonight that knee will be mine!"

All Ali could do was stand there speechless as she realized Adam was angry enough to follow through this time, and then she thought of her ally in the house and started to yell for Hoss.

"HOSS, HOSS, your brother is threatening to…to… I JUST NEED YOUR HELP! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"You can holler all you want, Alissa, but Hoss stayed out with the herd tonight," Adam said smugly, with a hint of a smile.

"It's just you and me now, sweetheart, and you have more than earned every thing that is coming to you!"

As Adam started towards Alissa to make good on his threat, she made the first smart decision she had all night since arriving home and decided to set the book down. Then her own need for preservation kicked in as she headed for Ben's chair and quickly darted behind it. Seeing Adam still coming for her she let out a squeal and tipped over the chair to block Adam from reaching her. Then she made a quick dash to the other side of the table in front of the settee and started moving around the table trying to keep out of Adam's reach. It started to look like a quirky dance as Adam would move to the left and then Ali would quickly move to the right trying to keep Adam at bay. Luckily for Ali every time Adam tried to grab for her arm she would dodge him easily enough to continue to keep out of his grasp.

"You stay away from me, Adam Cartwright!" Ali shouted, pointing her finger in his direction trying to sound braver than she actually felt as she tried to decide what her next move was going to be.

"WHAT IN BLUE BLAZES IS GOING ON DOWN HERE?" Ben bellowed, as he stood at the top of the stairs with his hands on his hips surveying the destruction of his great room.

He had been about to blow out his lamp for the night when he had heard all the commotion coming from downstairs and decided to quickly don his robe and go and investigate. He was totally shocked when he got to the top of the stairs.

Ben's sudden shouting was all that Adam needed to distract Ali as she was startled by his yelling and momentarily took her eyes off of Adam as she looked up at the top of the stairs. In one swift motion Adam came around the table and quickly grabbed Ali, then he sat down on the edge of the coffee table and easily drew her across his knees as she began kicking her legs frantically.

"Oh hello, pa. All that noise you just heard was Alissa throwing things and yelling. And now I am getting ready to show her what happens to bratty children who throw tantrums and break things," Adam explained, as he held Ali firmly on his lap.

"Alissa did all this?" Ben asked frowning, as he became more annoyed as he continued to see all the broken items scattered around the room.

Adam nodded his head as he held on tightly to a struggling Alissa.

"Why in heavens name would she do something as childish as this?"

"Because your stubborn son makes me so mad that…."

Whack! Adam gave Ali a quick swat.

"Hush!"

"Hey stop that!" Ali declared, as she tried to cover her backside with her hand.

Adam just ignored her and continued on trying to explain what had gone on tonight.

"She was throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't let her stay in town at the saloon."

"THE SALOON!" Ben roared, as his eyes widened in shock.

"What the devil was she doing in a saloon at this hour of the night? A saloon full of men is dangerous for a lady during the day, but at night it can be even more dangerous with all the drunken cowhands! What on earth possessed her to do that? And what were you thinking by taking her into a saloon in the first place, Adam?"

"Hey, I am still in the room you know. So stop talking about me like I'm not! You two have a really bad habit of doing that!" Alissa complained angrily.

Whack!

"OW!"

"Be quiet, young lady, you are in enough trouble!" Adam added, as he held on to Ali as she tried to raise her body up off of his knees.

"Now first of all, pa, I didn't take her into a saloon. You know me better than that. She went there on her own with Jessica McKenna. Joe and I ended up breaking up a bar room brawl and saving her from some big oaf that was manhandling her. We went in to have a beer before we came home tonight and there in the middle of the room was Alissa dangling in the air as some giant of a man held her up off the floor by her shirt."

"Yeah, and when you did he dropped me none too gently on the floor too, I might add," Ali whined, as she pushed herself up to try and look at Ben.

Whack!

"Be quiet!"

Oww! Will you stop doing that?" Ali protested loudly, as she kicked her legs and then seriously thought about biting Adam's leg, but decided against it with the position she was in.

Adam just ignored her as he continued telling Ben the events of the night.

"Yes, Joe convinced him to let her go as only Joe can," Adam grinned.

"And then Sheriff Coffee came and arrested everyone and it was a big mess. After I posted her bail and told him we would come back in a few days and settle up our part of the damages to the saloon we all came home. But when we got home Alissa decided to throw a temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her stay in town to investigate the robberies any further. So I was just getting ready to show her how tantrums are handled in this house," Adam replied calmly.

"Robberies…what robberies?" Ben demanded angrily.

Then rolling his eyes in annoyance he just shook his head. What this young girl could get into in the short time she had been here still never failed to surprise him.

Deciding to finish discussing this in the morning Ben pointed his finger in Adam and Ali's direction and said sternly, "Well I can see now that you have everything under control, Adam, so I'll just go back to bed. But we WILL talk about this some more in the morning!"

Then he scowled at both of them before he started to go back down the hall until Alissa quickly yelled up to him.

"Ben, stop him…you can't let him do this. Don't just stand there, Ben…do something!"

The look Ben gave Alissa was quite telling as he said, "I _am_ doing something, young lady. I am letting Adam handle the situation the SAME way I would if he didn't. So I'll just leave you two alone now… Good Night!"

Adam chuckled as he answered, "Yes, sir, I definitely have everything under control now, pa, so you can go back to bed. Good night."

As Ben was heading down the hall he heard Adam sternly say, "Alright young lady, you and I have a few more things to discuss."

**TBC**

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Hate to leave you there but the chapter was getting really long and the next one is a long one too. Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

WARNING: There will be spanking in this chapter.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo x

As soon as Ali saw Ben leave and heard what Adam said—she knew her fate was sealed and started struggling even harder trying to get off of Adam's lap.

"Adam Cartwright, stop this at once!"

From the determined look on Adam's face, that wasn't going to happen at all as Adam just held on tighter to his struggling fiancée as he sternly declared, "Alright young lady, it is time we had our little talk! I warned you what was going to happen if you didn't stop acting like a spoiled child. Obviously you didn't take me seriously, but as I told you before, Alissa, I never make idle threats."

"Ohhh, you let me go you big jerk!" Ali demanded, as she struggled on his lap until she leaned over and tried to bite his leg.

Easily moving her further over his lap to where she couldn't bite him, Adam continued on with his lecture.

"Acting like a spoiled child by throwing things _and _trying to bite just isn't the smartest thing to do when I am already upset with you for going into a saloon in the middle of the night putting yourself into so much danger. So, young lady, you have more than earned this with your recent behavior!"

Ali started kicking her legs hoping to throw Adam off balance just enough that she could try to get off of his lap, but he had a strong hold on her and once he put his muscular arm tighter around her waist, she wasn't going anywhere soon.

"I will not let you put yourself in danger if there is anything that I can do to keep you from it, Alissa. And if paddling your backside is enough of a deterrent to make you think twice before you get involved in one of your wild harebrained ideas again, then so be it!"

Adam slowly raised his hand as he added, "And this is one time that I am glad you are wearing those blasted britches that I hate you wearing because I want you to feel every single swat and remember this for a long time to come!"

"ADAM, STOP! ADAM!"

Alissa's eyes widened in surprise as she felt the first swat connect with her backside. Now she realized what Adam meant when he said he was glad she had on britches because she definitely was starting to feel his little lesson after the first swat! Maybe a skirt with lots of petticoats would have been better for her posterior, but she knew Adam and he would just move the petticoats out of the way anyway.

It really didn't matter what she was wearing at this point though, as Adam's strong hand connected with her jean covered bottom making sure he gave both sides of her wiggling bottom equal attention. But just as determined as Adam was to get his point across and make her think next time before she did one of her crazy stunts, she was as determined to try and get free. Unfortunately she was losing this battle of wills as Adam had her firmly held across his lap and he was not about to let her up until he knew he had gotten his point across.

"I tell you that you can't do certain things not because I am mean and don't want you to be happy and do the things that you want to do, but because I want to keep you safe, Alissa. I am far more aware of what is safe and what is not safe for a woman in this part of the country than you, and as long as it is my job to keep you safe, I will do whatever it takes to keep you that way."

Adam delivered a few more swats on her upturned bottom but wasn't even making a dent in Alissa's attitude as she yelled, "You are a mean, overbearing jerk, Adam Cartwright…NOW LET ME UP!"

"Your opinion of me right now is not going to sway me in the least, Alissa, and we ARE going to continue with this discussion until I know I can depend on you to stop putting yourself into situations where you can get hurt. So…are you going to start listening to me and promise not to do the things that will put you in danger, or do we have to continue this discussion a little longer?" Adam shifted Alissa slightly and calmly waited for her to answer as he easily held on to his angry, little hellcat's squirming body.

This was nothing like the first spanking Adam had given her and she didn't like it in the least! Damn she thought angrily…this was starting to hurt! But Ali was stubborn if nothing else and she wasn't about to give in _just_ yet, even if the discomfort on her backside was suggesting she should. Adam patiently held her on his lap waiting for her answer until she started struggling again and finally gave him an answer, although it wasn't the answer he had hoped to hear.

"Let me up, you brute! I will get the sheriff out here to arrest you for abuse, Adam Cartwright!"

"I doubt Sheriff Coffee will come to your rescue this time, Alissa. With all the problems you have caused the poor man in the last year he would probably be glad to hear that I have finally taken you in hand. And this is far from abuse. This is a sound spanking that you have more than earned with all your recent behavior."

"Fine, then you _both_ can kiss my…."

"OUCH!"

Adam answered her saucy remark with a stinging swat this time that definitely got her attention as she put her hand back to try and protect her smarting backside. But Adam easily moved her hand and held it in his as he continued on.

"From your rather coarse comment just now I guess you are not ready to answer my question yet, plus we have a little matter of you lying to me to discuss."

Alissa blanched when she heard Adam bring up the lying part as she had totally forgotten about that.

He quickly delivered four more swats to her wiggling bottom before he added, "That was for the lying. You know how I feel about you lying no matter how small you think the lie may be. Now let's talk about the temper tantrum, shall we?"

Adam's hand landed three more times as Ali was yelling her head off and making all kinds of threats of what she wanted to do to him if he didn't let her up. Finally Ali decided that just maybe she wasn't going to win this battle of wills as her backside felt like it was on fire, so she responded half-heartedly.

"Oh, alright… YOU WIN! I will try and listen to you and not put myself in dangerous situations anymore."

"No…you won't try, you will do it, Alissa! No more dangerous escapades!" Adam declared, as he landed one final quick, but effective swat.

"Owwwww!"

Coming to the conclusion that her stubbornness to fight him was not the smartest thing she had done recently, Alissa finally conceded that Adam had certainly made his point this time because her backside was definitely tingling now and she would feel this "discussion" for the next few days for sure!

"Alright…alright I…I promise, no more dangerous escapades," Alissa finally cried, as tears started to cloud her eyes.

After hearing her promise Adam stopped and gently turned her over in his arms. As he pulled her towards him she struggled to get off of his lap, but Adam ignored her struggles as he held her close until she eventually stopped crying and he slowly leaned back and looked at her tear stained face as he smiled down at her.

"I love you so much, little one, that when I saw you in that saloon with that big idiot holding on to you… my heart nearly stopped. He could have snapped you in two! I couldn't stand it if something bad happened to you, and I would never forgive myself for not taking better care of you. You are the love of my life, Alissa, and just incase you don't know it by now…I am very protective of the people I love."

Adam leaned down and kissed her forehead then stroked her cheek as he said, "So as long as it is my job to keep you safe, I will do whatever it takes to do that. And if warming that cute little backside of yours helps you stop and think before you do any of your outlandish schemes… then I will do it every time!"

Adam's dark eyebrow rose as he added, "And there is NO excuse for you acting like a spoiled child just now by throwing things. That is never going to happen without a consequence in this house, no matter how old you are!"

Ali sniffed and winced slightly as she got off of Adam's lap.

"I know that was a bit childish, but I was so mad and when I get mad I tend to throw things."

"A bit childish?" Adam chided, as he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

A sarcastic remark was on the tip of her tongue, but Ali decided to save it as she didn't think Adam was in the mood for any cheeky comebacks right now.

But she did offer a feeble explanation as she replied with a bit of a pout, "Well…you had that look on your face that I know all too well and it seemed like the only logical thing to do to keep my backside safe and you at a distance."

"Didn't work out too well for you, did it?" Adam quipped.

"Ha, ha, you are such an amusing man," Ali said frowning, as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"But sometimes you just make me so angry, Adam Cartwright, that my temper gets the better of me."

"You have a temper…I never knew that!" Adam grinned, showing his dimples as he shook his head laughing softly.

"Boy you are quite the funny man tonight, aren't you, Mr. Cartwright?" Ali mocked, as she stood there glaring at Adam.

At this point all she really wanted to do was reach back and rub her smarting backside, but instead she let out a long drawn out sigh.

"You know, I just don't know why all my ideas end up with me in the middle of a big mess, but they always seem to happen that way. I do have the best of intentions though when I start out…I really do. But everything seems to turn to shi…I mean things just don't turn out right," Ali quickly added, as she caught herself from almost swearing.

Slowly looking around the room at the results of her mini tantrum Ali quietly admitted, "You are right, Adam, and I _am_ sorry for all the trouble I caused tonight. Plus I will clean up all the mess that I made in this room."

"You most certainly will," Adam replied firmly, although there was a slight trace of a smile on his handsome face.

Then he gently raised Alissa's chin so he could get her full attention as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I am very serious about you staying out of danger, sweetheart, and I want you to keep your promise to me that you will stop."

Seeing a lone tear on Alissa's cheek Adam took his thumb and gently brushed it away as he waited for her answer.

Sighing Ali finally answered him, although a little begrudgingly, "I promise… I will do what you ask, Adam."

"Good, because I sure don't want to have to repeat this little discussion anytime soon, Alissa. Because if we do, the next time I will make sure you don't sit comfortably for a week!"

Ali's eyes widened in disbelief as she gasped, "Well what the hel…I mean I probably won't sit comfortably for a week from _this_ spanking! You would make it worse than this one? You wouldn't dare do that?"

Adam leaned forward with his forearms resting on his thighs till he was only inches away from her as he answered, "What do you think?"

Ali thrust up her chin for a moment before finally giving in as she reached back and rubbed her smarting backside as she grumbled, "I think you would."

Adam couldn't help but smile at this gesture as he easily pulled her back on to his lap and put his strong arms around her as he held her close, comforting her as he rocked her back and forth while she snuggled against his broad chest.

"I love you my little spitfire," he said with a chuckle, as he kissed the top of her head.

"And it breaks my heart to make you cry. But I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe," Adam whispered, as he hugged her tightly.

With an exasperated sigh Alissa responded, "I love you too my old fashioned guy."

Then she frowned as she added, "But did you have to make your point quite so…so…firmly?"

Grinning at her question Adam suppressed a chuckle as he answered, "Yep, I did! I wanted to make a lasting impression this time."

"Well you did!" Ali groaned, as she frowned slightly and rolled her eyes.

Doing his best to try and hide his smile after her comment Adam leaned forward bringing his lips to hers for a gentle kiss. Kissing him always did make her feel better Ali decided, as she eagerly returned his kiss before snuggling in his arms. But when her bottom suddenly connected with his thigh, the sting came back rather quickly and she knew that she would definitely remember tonight's little discussion for a while.

Quickly moving to rearrange her bottom so she was more comfortable, Alissa turned and put her arms around Adam's neck and looked up at her stubborn, no nonsense man who infuriated her with his bossy ways, but made her heart flutter every time he took her into his arms for one of his exquisite kisses.

"I am so glad you see my point, Alissa, and you do promise to stay out of trouble, right?" Adam asked, as their eyes met briefly.

Shaking her head Alissa responded, "Mmm hmm."

Then she smiled ever so slyly as she leaned forward to hug Adam and started caressing the back of his neck until she felt his shoulder muscles relax as he enjoyed her loving caresses. But if Adam could have seen behind his back, he may not have been so relaxed and confident that she was going to give the promise to stay out of danger her best effort.

She would try—she _really_ would she thought, as she nuzzled his neck kissing it softly. But there were just way too many restrictions put on women of this era and she knew she couldn't just sit idly by and not do something to help change this backward way of thinking. Plus there were so many causes that she still had to get involved in.

Truth be told, Ali really didn't know if she could keep her promise to Adam, even though she had every intention of trying to do so. And of course there was always the added incentive of ending up over his knee again if she didn't keep her promise. And one thing about Adam, he was definitely _thorough_ when handing out incentives she winced, as she tried to find a more comfortable position while continuing to rub his neck.

So this was becoming quite the dilemma for Alissa. She felt she really wasn't lying about promising to stay out of trouble, because she really did mean it for _now_. But in the future, well she just didn't know if she could keep that promise. So just to be safe after she answered Adam's question, she had caressed the back of his neck with her one hand and crossed her fingers with her other hand. After all, it wasn't a lie if you crossed your fingers, right?

**TBC**

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I am so tickled at all the great reviews this story is getting and I appreciate them all! I wish I could personally thank the guests as I do the members that review, but I can only thank you all on here.

So a big thank you to: Ann from England, debbie55, littlemom, FCG98, patou, Amber, and Rheavak.

And to all the other guests (who only review as guests) and the fanfiction members who took the time to review…you make me smile with all your great reviews, and I am so happy that you enjoy this Adam and Alissa series as much as I do writing it! ~ Sierra


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Joe had stalled long enough he figured as he finally closed the barn door for the night. He had kept himself busy brushing Cochise twice and cleaning up the tack room, so hopefully the two lovebirds were done arguing by now. Whistling a lively tune Joe headed for the house but stopped when he got to the front door. Not quite sure what he would find once he opened the door, he tentatively pushed it open just a crack. The scene that greeted him as he opened the door wider was not quite what he had expected. It looked like a tornado had gone through the living room, sparing the inhabitants but leaving quite a messy room in its wake.

As Joe looked around the room he saw a broken lamp, what was left of a figurine lying on the floor by the table, a broken vase with water and flowers lying near by and apples—lots of apples were strewn all around the great room. Apples? What on earth were apples doing all over the floor Little Joe wondered, as he stuck his head in the door and let out a low whistle?

"Is it safe to come in here? And what on earth happened to this room?"

Adam was casually leaning against the back of the couch with his legs crossed at his ankles and his arms firmly planted across his chest as he tipped his head in Alissa's direction.

"Our little miss here decided to have a bit of a temper tantrum," Adam said smugly, with a hint of a grin.

"Ali did all this?" Joe asked, as he scanned the mess in the great room until he came to where said person was bent over sweeping up some broken glass by the table.

"Good grief, Ali! What got into you tonight? Did you suddenly have a fit or something?"

The answer Joe got to that question was a pillow hitting him on the head as it came sailing through the air. Surprisingly enough Alissa actually hit something that she had aimed at for once, and poor Joe didn't even have time to duck because he hadn't seen the pillow coming.

"Oh be quiet, Joe. I am not in the mood for any of your smart remarks tonight," Ali warned, as she stood by the table with her hands on her hips glaring at Joe.

Looking uncomfortable Joe shrugged and smiled rather weakly as he laid the pillow on the settee.

"Sorry, Ali, but I was dead serious. I thought maybe you had a fit or something like that, otherwise why would you throw things all over the room?"

Joe quickly scanned the room again and then hurriedly got behind the settee to protect himself just incase Ali decided to throw something else in his direction.

"Shows you what you know, Mr. Joe Cartwright! For your information a girl can just get mad or upset at someone and take out her frustrations on whatever is around her! And your annoying, overprotective brother here made me so angry that I did just that…and started throwing whatever I got my hands on at him."

"Oh, well did you ever hit him or just mostly all the things in the great room? And more importantly…has pa seen all this?" Joe curiously asked, as he tried to hide his grin not wanting to incur Ali's wrath any further.

Not finding his question amusing in the least, Alissa reached down and grabbed an apple off the floor and was getting ready to throw it at Joe when Adam cleared his throat.

"Don't even think about it, Alissa. I think you have thrown enough things for one night, don't you?"

Alissa slowly lowered her arm all the while glaring at Joe before she finally decided Adam was probably right about throwing enough things tonight and walked over and placed the apple in the bowl on the table.

Then she pointed her finger at Joe as she firmly declared, "You are real lucky, Joe, that I decided that maybe I _have_ thrown enough things for one night, because I am just not in the mood for your humorous remarks right now. And yes, Mr. Nosey Ned, Ben has been down here tonight."

"Nosey Ned," Joe mouthed, as he looked over at Adam chuckling to himself.

Grinning wickedly Joe couldn't help but add another snide comment, "Yeah, well I guess we _are _lucky that you didn't break anymore lamps with your terrible aim, cause I sure don't think we could spare too many more lamps."

Slowly tapping his chin as if he was thinking out loud Joe smirked, "Actually, come to think of it, _you_ are the lucky one if pa saw this room and didn't start bellowing so loudly that they would have heard him clear out in the bunkhouse."

Then he burst out laughing holding onto his sides as he tried to contain his laughter. But Ali was not amused by his comment as she quickly headed in Joe's direction as that famous temper of hers flared.

"Joe Cartwright, I am going to…"

Adam was by her side in a flash as he put his arms around her stopping her from getting any closer to Joe.

"Whoa, there sweetheart, let's don't hurt Joe tonight. I need him on the ranch tomorrow, not laid up with a broken arm or something worse," Adam chuckled, as he held onto Alissa.

Then he turned to Joe as he playfully said, "Oh little brother, when will you learn you never antagonize an already angry woman, especially one with a temper like Alissa's."

"Okay, okay I will leave you two alone," Joe laughed, as he put up his arms in defeat and headed for the stairs.

Then he stopped at the bottom of the staircase and turned on that Joe Cartwright charm as he added, "Ali, you know I love ya like a sister and I just couldn't keep from teasing you."

"I know, you little brat," Ali answered, with a slight grin.

"See you both in the morning…I hope," Joe muttered under his breath as he took the stairs two at a time, hoping they didn't have round two down here because the great room was already quite the mess.

"Smart move little brother," Adam quipped, as he bent over and easily picked Alissa up in his arms and headed for the blue chair.

Sitting down with Alissa comfortably on his lap, Adam wrapped his arms around her petite frame and held her close until she finally relaxed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, my little Alissa, you are the most spirited, impetuous, headstrong and enchanting woman I have ever met. And you make me smile with your little show of temper…or most of the times you make me smile. You definitely have brought excitement into this house with that firery personality of yours."

Suddenly sitting up on Adam's lap Alissa eyed him warily. "Oh really, well then why did you get so upset with my temper earlier tonight?"

"I said most of the time. Your little show of temper earlier tonight was an out and out temper tantrum. This little bit of temper with Joe was just you being your usual, sassy self. And they are two different things for sure, young lady."

"Yeah, I guess you are probably right about that," Ali agreed, as she turned and smiled at Adam before she started to slowly run her fingers through his wavy hair, until her hand settled on the side of his face as she gently caressed his cheek. Then she leaned over and lightly kissed each of his irresistible dimples before finally ending with a kiss on the cleft in his chin.

"I so love your dimples, Adam. And the cleft in your chin…well it just makes you so devilishly sexy and desirable to me that it is all I can do to keep from kissing you and tearing off your shirt," Ali giggled, as she gave him a saucy wink.

"Alissa, how you talk," Adam said, shaking his head as he blushed slightly from her comment.

Alissa couldn't help but laugh at her big strong man blushing from her flirtatious remark as she adjusted herself on Adam's lap and grinned.

"So now that I am in this lovely position, my sexy man, why don't we take advantage of it?" Ali eagerly suggested, as she wiggled her eyebrows as her green eyes twinkled mischievously.

Adam paused long enough to grin, flashing those dimples that Alissa so loved before he gently took her face in both his hands as he smothered it with tender kisses, until finally focusing on her sweet lips. Lowering his head he lightly ran his tongue across her parted lips, teasing the entrance of her mouth until he finally captured her waiting mouth with one deliriously long and sensual kiss. Alissa could only moan from the intensity of his full lips on hers as her thoughts took on a mind of their own, and she became swept away in the moment.

Finally as their lips parted Alissa pulled back long enough to murmur softly against his enticing mouth, "What about cleaning up the room?"

As Adam breathed in the fragrance of lavender from her hair as it lay against his cheek, he eagerly slipped his hand to cradle the back of her neck and pulled her closer as he whispered, "I think it can wait for now."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Later that night as Alissa was getting ready for bed she couldn't help but smile as she thought about their time together in front of the fire. Adam's kisses had made her body think of things that definitely would have to wait until after they were married. But darn, it was getting harder and harder to pull away from his loving arms, and it definitely was a good thing that they would be getting married soon she smiled as she walked over to the bed.

As she drew back the comforter she remembered how sweet Adam had been when he helped her clean up the great room after their little romantic interlude. Occasionally he would act like he was going to throw an apple at her and then he would rush over and grab her in his arms and kiss her before he placed it in the bowl. He was the most attentive and romantic man that she had ever met and she was hopelessly in love with this man.

"Although sometimes he does make me angry," She said out loud, as she found herself smiling. "But then I always know I can never stay mad at Adam for very long."

Then she sat down on the edge of the bed and quickly remembered why she had been so angry with him a few hours before as she felt a slight discomfort on her backside.

"Oh that man! One minute he is making me so furious that I could scream with his bossy and opinionated ways, and then the next he is making me melt in his strong arms as they wrap around me like a blanket, leaving me feeling safe and loved. And oh those kisses of his…I think that man is a keeper," Ali whispered, as she leaned over the bedside table and blew out the lamp.

Fully intending to dream about that handsome cowboy of hers, Ali Snuggled down between the covers and smiled contently as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Alissa slowly opened one eye trying to adjust to the sunlight shining through the bedroom window, but just couldn't persuade her other eye to do the same. It had been rather late last night before she and Adam had kissed goodnight in front of the door to her room and she was paying for it today. She already heard the rest of the family going about their morning activities earlier, but just couldn't seem to get her body moving. Finally succeeding in opening her other eye for longer than two seconds, Alissa rolled over and looked at her watch that she always laid on the night table before going to sleep.

"SEVEN O" ClOCK! Ugh…how do these people do it every morning? I know the family has been up for hours because I heard them going down the hall and then heading out the front door before I turned over and crashed. Brother, that is one thing I do miss…sleeping in!" Alissa groaned, and gradually moved her legs to the side of the bed and sat up.

It had been a rather long day yesterday with all the excitement she and Jessica had gotten into in town. And then of course, her little show of temper when they got home plus the unpleasant discussion she and Adam had afterwards, made for a long night. But it did end rather well she smiled, remembering her romantic time with Adam before the warm crackling fire. So now the time had come that she would have to deal with Ben and Ali wasn't real sure how that was going to go. He certainly was angry when he went to bed last night, so I hope he got a restful night's sleep and is in a good mood this morning she thought, as she laid back on the bed trying to convince herself to just stay there.

"Well, I guess I better get dressed and go and see what he has to say," Ali grumbled, as she stood and stretched before sliding into her slippers.

"I am sure it will be quite a long lecture and the majority of it will be with him yelling," she added with a cheeky grin, as she headed to her armoire to pick out her clothes. Several minutes later after selecting a white blouse with small pink pin striping on it and a dark blue skirt, Alissa sat down at her dressing table to do her hair. The first thing she noticed as she looked into the mirror was the dark bruising that was showing around her eye. Unfortunately the big oaf's elbow had connected with Alissa's eye last night while she was in the saloon and now there was no doubt that it had left a colorful bruise. Gently touching around her eye area Alissa winced slightly as she sat back on her chair.

"Great, just what I needed today, a reminder of how dangerous it was for me to be in that saloon. Adam has already seen the small bruise last night and wasn't real thrilled about it, but now the bruise is all purple and looks twice as bad. Geez Louise, Ben is probably going to be even more upset when he sees this. Although I think trashing his great room will probably trump my bruise," Ali giggled, as she picked up her hairbrush from the table.

"Either way, I am in for a mighty big lecture for sure," Ali sighed, as she started brushing her hair trying to get the tangles out before she could decide how she wanted to wear it today.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hoss had come home earlier this morning and was sitting at the table with Joe and Adam when Ben came in the front door and over to the table. He was the last one to sit down at the table and after he poured his coffee, he placed his napkin on his lap and looked over at Adam frowning slightly.

"Well, Adam, I noticed the great room looks a lot better than it did last night. I assume that you showed Alissa the error of her ways with that little show of temper? It was certainly very childish, not to mention destructive."

Clearing his throat Adam looked up from his breakfast and responded, "Yes, sir, it was 'discussed' and she agreed that she behaved foolishly and the room was all straightened up before we went to bed."

"Good. So can you explain to me why on earth Alissa decided to destroy our house?"

Just as Adam started to try and explain, Ben put up his hand stopping him from answering.

"Just wait, I think I would rather hear Alissa's explanation on this."

After piling several pancakes onto his plate Hoss looked up and asked curiously, "What in tarnation is everyone talkin' about? Alissa tried to destroy the house? What do ya mean?"

"Oh, brother, you should have seen this place, Hoss. There were apples everywhere!"

"Apples?"

"Yeah, and flowers and broken glass on the floor. It was something else!" Joe chuckled, as he reached for a biscuit.

"You know at first I thought maybe Ali had a fit or something but no, she just was mad at our dear brother here. And you know our sweet Ali's temper when she…"

"You talk too much, Joe," Adam cut in as he glared at Joe. Recognizing that look Joe decided to be quiet for a while as he started munching on his biscuit.

"Alright, boys, that is enough. Let's just eat breakfast and we will discuss this further when Alissa comes down."

"Speaking of which, here she comes now," Joe grinned, as he glanced towards the stairs.

All the men stood up at the table and waited for Alissa to come over and take a seat. Adam had eagerly gone to her chair and was waiting to help seat her when she stopped by Joe and stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Joe, can you please forgive me for last night? I was in a rather testy mood and I shouldn't have been so angry with you. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. I know you love to tease and normally I do too, and I really am ashamed of the way I behaved to you last night."

"Ah, Ali, you know me by now. I could forgive you anything when you turn on that sweet smile of yours. I know you had quite the evening and of course I forgive you. Sides, a little ol' pillow sure ain't gonna hurt me," Joe said grinning, as he hugged Alissa.

By now Hoss was really confused about what had happened while he was away as he exclaimed, "Will someone please tell me what in tarnation happened around here last night? I ain't got the faintest idea what ya all are talkin' about."

After wiping his mouth and setting down his napkin, Ben cleared his throat and said sternly as his eyebrow rose ominously, "Yes, I think it is time I _also_ find out what happened last night! So, Alissa, start talking!"

Alissa had finally taken her seat after hugging Joe and took a deep breath and slowly released it as she smiled and proceeded to answer his question.

But suddenly she was interrupted before she even got a word out as Ben exclaimed, "Alissa, what on earth happened to your eye?"

Touching her eye carefully Alissa finally remembered how awful the bruise looked this morning and responded half-heartedly, "Oh that, well I got in the way of the idiot's elbow, but it really looks worse than it feels."

"What idiot?" Hoss asked, as he stared at Alissa wide eyed.

"Oh Hoss, you should have seen…"

Ben just shook his head and declared, "That will be enough, Joseph, just continue please, Alissa."

Joe stopped talking but had to hide his snickering behind his napkin as he kept his head down.

"Well, it all started out when I decided to investigate the recent robberies in town. I mean after all I am a reporter for the paper so I should investigate those kinds of things, don't you think?" Ali asked, as she looked over the table at Adam, but she didn't have time to see his reaction as Ben's raised voice made her jump and quickly turn back and look in his direction.

"NO, young lady, I certainly do not think that a woman should be investigating any robberies! But that is a whole other conversation," Ben replied abruptly, as he narrowed his eyes waiting for her to continue.

"Yes, well anyway, I told Joe that I was staying the night with Jessica…and that was the truth. I just didn't add the part that she and I had come up with a scheme to get into the saloon to ask some questions regarding the saloon getting robbed. Well…actually it was mostly my idea and I convinced her to come along with me."

"Imagine that," Ben said dryly.

"So we dressed up in her brother's clothes and went into the saloon as men. And just for the record before you get all riled up, everything would have been fine and we were getting ready to leave when that big oaf that Joe took care of …thank you by the way for that, Joe…grabbed me and threw me down the bar."

"HE THREW YOU DOWN THE BAR?" Adam suddenly shouted, as his eye widened in surprise.

"I only knew about him holding you up in the air by your shirt. If I had known that he did that to you, he would be eating out of the side of his mouth by the time I got finished with him," Adam declared sharply.

Alissa reached across the table and lovingly patted Adam's hand as she smiled, "It is alright, sweetheart, I was okay and I think Joe scared him badly enough that he won't be around town for quite a while."

Shaking his head Adam squeezed Ali's hand as he groaned, "Alissa, you are going to be the death of me yet. And if I ever see him again anytime soon, he will definitely regret putting his hands on you."

"Alright, young lady, let's get back to your story, shall we? I can't wait to hear what happened next," Ben said rather sarcastically, as he leaned over the table frowning at Alissa.

Looking a bit sheepish, Alissa continued on with her story knowing full well that Ben was not going to be amused with the rest of this story. And Adam hadn't heard the entire tale of last night's events yet either, so she wasn't sure which one would blow up first knowing the tempers these two had. Ben's temper is the kind of temper that comes on quickly and when he looses it, you better run for the hills. But Adam's temper is slow to come to the surface, and usually you can see signs of it starting when he grabs the bridge of his nose, or when he clenches his jaw and you see that little twitch on the side of his jaw. Then it's 'Katie bar the door'—you know he's angry! Either way, she had a feeling she was going to be favored with both of these men's tempers when they heard the whole story.

"Mmm, well, unfortunately after the man threw me down the bar, Jessica hit him on the head with a whiskey bottle and then he turned around and headed for her, so naturally I couldn't let him do that. So I…well…I kind of jumped on his back and bit his ear," Alissa quickly explained, all the while watching Adam and Ben's expressions.

Ben's eyes widened in disbelief and Adam just shook his head as the muscle in his jaw twitched ever so slightly, so that Alissa knew he was doing his best to keep control of his temper as he listened to the events that he hadn't been aware of till now. Not waiting for Ben or Adam to voice their disproval, Ali quickly continued talking.

"Well, this sorta seemed to get the rest of the saloon in a fighting mood as all of a sudden everyone started punching and fighting with each other, and pretty soon the whole saloon had broken out in pandemonium!"

"And just what were you doing during all this pandemonium may I ask, young lady," Ben asked, raising his voice a notch.

Hoss had been sitting there with his mouth slightly ajar as he heard this story unfold when he finally had to ask, "Yeah, Ali, what happened next?"

"Well that is when he reached over his shoulder to pull me off, and when he did he grabbed hold of my hat and all my hair came loose when the hat came off. Then I lost my balance and landed on the floor in front of him, so that was when he realized I was a girl."

"For heaven sakes, if he knew you were a girl why on earth did he pick you up and hold you in the air like an angry puppy?" Joe asked, looking confused and a bit irritated.

"Umm, it probably had something to do with me trying to kick and punch him where most men don't want to get hit," Ali Admitted weakly.

"Yeah, he did say that he was trying to keep _you_ away from him after I told him to put you down. I thought he was exaggerating but I guess he was telling the truth after all," Joe chuckled, knowing how feisty Ali gets when she is mad.

"So will somebody please tell me what happened next?" Hoss said impatiently, trying to figure what this had to do with the great room getting wrecked.

"Very well then, I assume that Roy came and arrested most of the people in the saloon. Am I correct about that?" Ben asked, as his jaw tightned.

"Yes, pa, and after I posted Alissa's bail we came home. And that is when our little headstrong gal here decided she was mad at me for not letting her stay and investigate the robberies further, and then decided to start throwing whatever she could get her hands on in the room at me!" Adam explained.

"Oh, now I know what happened. Oh Lordy, Ali, you are somethin' else when you get riled," Hoss grinned, but quickly became serious when Ben looked down the table and scowled at him.

Ali started twisting her napkin on her lap because she knew the hard part of the story was coming as she tried to explain to Ben why she had trashed the room. When all eyes turned on her, she blinked and swallowed hard before raising her chin slightly.

"Okay, Okay, I am sure you are wondering why I got a bit carried away and started throwing things. Well, it is hard to explain but sometimes when I am really mad…I…well…I tend to throw things. I know, I know, it isn't a good habit to have, but that is the way I have always been. People that knew me just expected it and would just get out of my way. I mean, I never really hurt anyone and it always made _me_ feel better when I was done."

Ben just sat there for the longest time before he cleared his throat and leaned forward slightly resting his arm on the table so that he was looking right at Alissa. Soon she became increasingly uncomfortable under his stern expression but kept her chin up and didn't look away as she continued on.

"I realize now that it was incredibly childish and after talking with Adam last night I…uh…don't plan on doing that anymore. From now on I'll just have to find some good chocolate to help me curb my temper," Ali joked, but seeing that no one got her little bit of humor, she decided she may want to try a different tactic.

Ben just shook his head and frowned not amused at all as he said, "You do know that going in that saloon was not only dangerous but extremely foolish, Alissa. You and Jessica were very lucky that Adam, Joe and Jessica's brother came along when they did."

Nodding her head Alissa replied softly, "Yes, I know, we were very lucky. And I am really sorry about the room, Ben, and I will try and find a way to pay you back for any damages that I did. And I can promise you that I will never throw things again…or at least anything in the house," she added, as she smiled mischievously hoping to lighten his mood.

It didn't work at all and finally that temper that everyone knew so well came alive as Ben slammed his fist on the table.

"Young lady, do you know you could have been hurt or even killed if someone would have gotten trigger happy and started shooting?" Ben declared angrily, as he stood up and started pacing back and forth trying to calm himself, while pausing long enough to stop and glare at Alissa before continuing to pace again.

"And then to come home and throw a temper tantrum because you didn't get to stay in that dangerous situation in town…that is just ridiculously childish and totally unacceptable in this house!"

Shaking his finger in Ali's direction Ben continued with his lecture.

"You are very lucky that Adam 'handled' the situation with you last night or you and I would be having a LONG talk of our own this morning. I am still your guardian until you and Adam get married, and as such I would be more than willing to take care of your foolish behavior! I cannot believe that you would let your temper get so out of control that you ended up throwing things at Adam. I believe you already broke a kitchen window with that sassy temper of yours. The idea of throwing things whenever you don't get your own way and get mad will never be tolerated in this house! I certainly will not put up with that kind of behavior and after your discussion with Adam last night, I know you realize he won't put up with it either!"

Alissa realized everyone here at the table with the exception of Hoss knew exactly what that 'little discussion' had been all about, and she felt a blush slowly spread across her face as she nodded her head.

Finally deciding he had scolded her enough and definitely made his point, Ben let out a long sigh and stood and walked over to Alissa's chair and pulled her to her feet hugging her tightly as he whispered, "I love you, Alissa, and have come to think of you as a daughter. And when I think of you getting hurt because of your foolishness, it just infuriates me. So when I get angry and yell at you it is no different than the way I would treat my sons. Now that you are part of this family, you have the four of us watching over you trying to keep you safe, and I know that gets a bit overwhelming for you at times. But that's what families do, we watch out for each other."

Ben looked down at Alissa as his firm hand caught her chin and raised it up. "And that also includes keeping them in line when a certain headstrong young lady decides to get involved in dangerous schemes or behave like a spoiled brat. Understand, Alissa?"

Alissa smiled as she looked up at Ben and said softly, "Yes, and I will try not to get involved in anything too dangerous from now on and thank you for thinking of me as part of the family… I love you too."

"Very well then, now that you realize how foolish what you and Jessica did and will never do anything like that again, we can finish our breakfast and hopefully have a normal Saturday. I am just so thankful that you didn't get hurt after the night you had," Ben smiled, as he hugged Alissa one more time before starting back to his chair.

Looking down at the floor Ali muttered under her breath, "Well a certain part of my anatomy did get hurt."

But the only one who heard her was Adam and he did his best not to smile at her comment.

Just as Ben got to his chair he turned and narrowed his eyes at Alissa as he pointed his finger in her direction, "But if you ever…"

"Don't worry, pa, she will _never_ do that again, I can assure you," Adam insisted, as he raised an eyebrow in warning at Alissa just daring her to argue.

Looking at Alissa with a look that the rest of the family knew so well, Ben eventually nodded and said in a quiet but firm voice, "Very well."

Then he sat down in his chair and called out to Hop Sing, "Hop Sing, would you please bring in some more coffee?"

"Boy howdy, things sure do happen when I am away. But then come to think of it, things seem to happen a lot around here since Ali came," Hoss said grinning, as he took a mouthful of pancakes.

Ali let out a long sigh of relief knowing Ben was done lecturing her and he was ready to move on from this subject—so was Ali. Adam had _more_ than made his point last night and when Ben mentioned the part about a gun and how she might have been shot, well she was definitely staying out of saloons for a long time she decided. As she reached for her fork she looked across the table at Adam as he quickly gave her a wink and that endearing smile of his and her appetite suddenly came back.

"How lamp get broke?" Hop Sing asked, as he stood by Ben with part of a lamp in his hands.

Ben looked up from his breakfast and glanced in Alissa's direction. Hop Sing frowned and walked over to where Alissa was sitting and set the broken piece on the table by her arm.

"Missy know how this happen?"

Looking a little nervous Alissa spoke up. " Why yes, Hop Sing. I believe that is what happens when a figurine hits it and knocks it off the table."

Looking puzzled Hop Sing said, "Why figurine hit lamp?"

"Well… it happens that way when someone throws it," Ali answered, starting to smile slightly.

"Who be so silly as to do that?"

"I guess that silly person would be me, Hop Sing. I uh, got a little upset with Adam last night and threw a few things at him."

Adam couldn't help but snicker to himself as he saw Alissa trying to explain what happened to Hop Sing, and apparently it wasn't going over very well as Hop Sing stood there glaring.

Finally grabbing what remained of the broken lamp off the table, Hop Sing let out a huff and turned and headed for the kitchen throwing his hands up in the air muttering Chinese all the way there.

"Great, now I won't EVER get back into his kitchen for sure," Ali grumbled, as she grabbed her coffee cup and took a drink.

Hoss reached over and patted Ali's hand as he said smiling, "Ah now don't you fret, darlin', he gets mad at us all the time and after he has his time to cool off, he will be back to his old self. Sorry I missed all the excitement, but I'm sure glad Hop Sing didn't know about all this until after he fixed breakfast cause I was starvin'!"

Then he winked at Alissa and reached for the plate of scrambled eggs and proceeded to empty the entire plate of eggs onto his plate.

"Well all I can say is thank goodness tomorrow is Sunday… cause I think we all need a rest," Little Joe chuckled, and delved into what was left of the pancakes.

TBC

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Once again, I want to thank all of you that left reviews! I appreciate them so much and really enjoy reading all the comments you have about this story. Sorry it took so long to post a new chapter and I hope you think it was worth the wait.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was a lovely Sunday morning and the sky was a bright blue with just a trace of white clouds scattered here and there. It was the perfect morning to ride to church and Adam and Alissa had decided to ride by themselves in the buggy with the rest of the family riding on ahead.

"You sure are awfully quiet today. A penny for your thoughts, sweetheart," Alissa said softly, as she laid her head on Adam's shoulder and snuggled close.

"Oh I have just been doing a lot of thinking this morning. By the way, you sure do look awfully pretty today and I really like that new hat you bought."

"You do?" Alissa said smiling, as she adjusted the ribbon tighter under her chin.

"I didn't wear hats like these before and I have to admit, it is taking a little getting use to. But with the hot sun I do need to wear something. I am so glad you like it," Alissa grinned, as she leaned over and kissed Adam on his cheek.

"Now then, please tell me what you have been thinking about. Has it something to do with the ranch?"

Shaking his head Adam turned and smiled as he urged the horse to go a little faster.

"Actually no, it was you that I was thinking about."

"Me? Were you thinking about how much you love me even though I am a royal pain in your…"

Ali quickly stopped talking in mid sentence as she saw Adam suddenly scowl as their eyes met and his eyebrow rose slightly at her comment.

"I mean, even though I am giving you gray hair?" Alissa joked, as she gave Adam a saucy wink and straightened out the folds on her new yellow dress.

"Well I certainly do love you, and yes you probably are giving me gray hair with all your antics," Adam chuckled. "But that is not what I have been thinking about."

Suddenly pulling up on the horse's reins, Adam stopped the buggy before turning in the seat to talk with Alissa.

"No, my love, I was thinking about that reporter job of yours."

Looking rather discouraged Ali quickly interrupted Adam, "I know…you are going to make me quit, aren't you?"

"Quite the contrary. I have been thinking about how important this job seems to be to you and maybe you could keep it after all. I could make a point to go into town at least once a week and on those days you could work at the newspaper. Then I wouldn't worry about you because I would be there just incase you needed me. How does that sound?"

"Oh, Adam, do you mean it?" Ali asked excitedly, as she quickly maneuvered onto Adam's lap and put her arms around his neck and started kissing him.

First she kissed each dimple, then his forehead and chin, and finally ended with a very passionate kiss on his lips.

"Mmm, that's the kind of answer I quite enjoy," Adam whispered against her lips, as he placed his arms around her petite frame and pulled her closer.

"But you might not want to get too excited just yet until I tell you the conditions that will go with the job."

"Ahh, you are spoiling the moment with your silly conditions," Ali pouted, as she rested her cheek on his chest. Then she quickly sat back and crossed her arms.

"Okay, what are your conditions, boss man?"

"Boss man, boss man, I'll show you bossy…you little brat," Adam laughed, as he started tickling her sides. He knew exactly where she was the most ticklish and soon she was squirming on his lap trying to get away.

"Oh, Adam, stop this at once! You will wrinkle my pretty new dress and you just may make me have a very unfortunate accident!"

As usual, Alissa's comment about an accident quickly brought a slight blush to Adam's face. She was the only girl he had ever known that could do that. And some of the comments that came out of her mouth were certainly blush worthy at times, even for a man he thought to himself as he finally stopped tickling her.

"Alright, sweetheart, let's set the ground rules for your job."

"Very well," She grumbled, as she got off of his lap and sat back along side of him and turned in the seat to listen.

"Let's have it."

"Have what?" Adam asked, looking slightly confused.

Rolling her eyes Ali answered, "Never mind. Just tell me the conditions for the job."

"Very well. I want you to only report on anything that has to do with ladies' issues. I think that should keep you safe and out of saloons," Adam smirked.

"Oh, Adam, sewing bees and bake sales…those are the boring issues. Can't I just do an occasional interesting one?" Ali pleaded, as she smiled sweetly hoping to persuade him to change his mind.

"Nope, just women's issues. Hopefully those topics will keep you out of trouble _and_ any danger that you tend to find."

"But…"

"No buts, that is my final answer. These are the conditions with which I will be most comfortable letting you work on the newspaper. After all I want you safe while you are doing this job, little one. And I know this isn't exactly what you would like, but you are my number one concern and I have thought about it and figure that women's issues would keep you from ending up in a saloon or worse," he added grinning.

"So what is your answer, sweetheart?"

"Very well, I will just stick to women's issues," Ali said, as she tried to hide her annoyance.

Then it came to her—women's issues, now that could prove to be quite interesting! And it would be right up my alley she smiled slyly, as all the things that woman _can't_ do came to mind. Her women's march ended badly but there was always a chance to do it again. And that certainly had been a 'woman's issue' she grinned. Hmm, yes indeed, right up my alley.

Of course the look she gave Adam didn't give her away in the least as she turned in her seat and smiled pleasantly as she responded, "Thank you so much for changing your mind, Adam. I can't wait to see what I can get involved in at the newspaper."

"Good, I am glad you are happy. Now we better hurry or we will be late for church."

Snuggling against Adam's side and sliding her arm through the crook in his arm Alissa sighed, "I sure do love you, my handsome cowboy."

"And I love you back, my delightful little trouble maker."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

The sermon in church was long and rather boring and it was all Alissa could do to stay awake. As soon as the sermon ended she was glad to be out in the fresh air and quickly hurried down the steps with Adam.

"Do you mind if I join pa and the others over by the tree there for a moment? I need to speak to them about some matters that came up on the lumber contract?"

"Of course not, I see Jessica over there and I want to go and talk to her anyway. So take your time, sweetheart," Alissa answered, as she squeezed Adam's hand before he smiled down at her and then walked away.

Hurrying over to Jessica, Alissa quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the group of churchgoers that she was standing next to.

"Come on, Jessie, I need to talk to you in private."

Once they where away from the others Ali couldn't wait to ask Jessica, "So tell me, how did it go Friday night with your father?"

Jessica frowned and rolled her eyes.

"Well how do you think it went? Not well. My brother lectured me all the way home and after he told my father what had happened and that we had been in a saloon, my pa just sat down and looked liked he had swallowed a sour lemon. He sat there for the longest time getting control of his temper and finally sent me to my room. I think you can guess what happened next," Jessie winced, and Ali knew exactly what she meant.

"I am so sorry, Jessie, I sure didn't want to get you into trouble. I just wish it had gone better for us in the saloon. If that stupid oaf hadn't gotten involved, everything would have been fine and we could have left without any problem."

Grabbing Ali's arm, Jessica grinned as her blue eyes sparkled, "Now you just listen to me, Alissa Anderson! My life was so boring until you came along, and I just love going on all the new adventures you always seem to get involved in. I wouldn't change a thing and would take a trip over my pa's knee any day just to have that kind of excitement in my life. Besides, it really didn't hurt…except when I sit," Jessica laughed.

"You know I told my father that at seventeen I was too old for that kind of punishment. But he said that if I was foolish enough to go into a saloon full of men, then I was acting childish and deserved a childish punishment, and besides as far as he was concerned I was never too old for that."

Frowning slightly Ali shook her head as she sighed resignedly.

"Yeah, it seems like I have heard _that_ comment before. Men in this era are just set in their ways on that subject for sure. They must all read the same book on how to handle women. I guess we are just going to have to set them straight, aren't we?"

"Men in this era… you are so funny with some of the things that you say, Ali," Jessica giggled, as she hugged Ali close.

"Now, speaking of sitting, let's go sit on the bench over there as I have so much news to tell you," Ali smiled, and tugged on Jessica's arm.

Both girls laughed and walked over to the wooden bench that was located under a tree a few feet away from the church steps.

Once seated Jessie quickly turned to Alissa and declared, "You just have to tell me what happened to you with Adam once you got home! He sure was mad as a wet hen when I left you. But I am sure you just batted those long eyelashes like you always do and he was butter in your hands."

"Mmm, it wasn't quite like that. I sorta lost my temper…"

"Imagine that," Jessie quipped.

"Hey, why does everyone say I have a bad temper?"

"Because you do."

"Whatever," Ali grumbled, and untied the ribbon under her chin and placed her hat on the bench seat beside her.

"Anyway, Adam just made me so mad that by the time we got home my temper was simmering. So when he got a sarcastic look on his face at something I said, well that was all it took! I grabbed an apple and started throwing one apple after another. Of course I never hit him and only managed to start breaking a few things in the room."

"Apples? Why apples?"

"Because that was what was handy."

"Oh," Jessie murmured, as if she understood but really didn't have the faintest idea why Ali threw apples.

Playing with the ribbon on her hat Ali continued on.

"Adam was not happy in the least that I was throwing things and kept warning me to stop. Then when he started coming at me threatening to spank me because I was acting like a spoiled child, well I decided to try and stop him by throwing something a little more substantial than an apple…so I grabbed a figurine."

"Of course you did," Jessie responded, sounding as if it made perfect sense to her even though it didn't.

Alissa let out a frustrated sigh.

"Unfortunately I didn't hit Adam and only managed to break a lamp, and then a vase full of flowers. So naturally Adam was a little ticked off."

"Ticked off?"

"He was mad!"

"Oh."

"So then what happened? And where was Joe during all of this?"

"Oh Joe left as soon as he saw that I was angry. You know Joe, he much rather be kissing a gal than arguing with one. So he high tailed it for the kitchen. Then I guess he went to the barn and we didn't see him until after it was all over."

"So tell me, was Adam mad that you broke all those things?"

An amused smiled tugged at Ali's lips as she said, "Oh yeah, you could say that. And he wasn't the only one. Ben decided to show up and started bellowing when he saw the sight of the mess in the great room."

"Well, you can hardly blame him, you know."

"I know. I really didn't mean to break anything. I only wanted to hit my smug fiancé…but you know how bad my aim is."

Jessica nodded her head in agreement having seen Alissa throw things before. And Ali was right, she couldn't hit the side of a barn if she stood right in front of it Jessie thought smiling.

"Anyway, the evening went from bad to worse," Ali said with a shrug.

Gabbing Ali's arm Jessie pressed her further. "Tell me, Ali…what happened next?"

"Well…Ben finished yelling and went to bed. But unfortunately when he first appeared at the top of the stairs I got distracted by his yelling and Adam used that moment to make his move. So he was able to grab me and then he sat down and easily put me over his knee. And I think you know the rest of that story," Ali said sarcastically.

"Once again my fiery temper got me into trouble. If I would have calmed down instead of losing my temper, Adam and I would have just talked about everything that happened in the saloon. But did I calm down? No, I have to go and start throwing things like some crazy spoiled child. So he finally had enough and decided to treat me like one," Alissa noted dryly.

Scraping the toe of her shoe on the ground in front of the bench Alissa smiled briefly as she continued.

"Oh I know there would have been plenty of yelling on Adam's part during the conversation, no doubt about that. And that certainly wouldn't have been pleasant. But it sure would have been a lot more pleasant for my backside than what eventually happened!"

Alissa frowned and let out a long exasperated sigh as she waited for Jessica's reaction to what she had just told her. Suddenly Jessica started giggling as Ali looked at her narrowing her eyes.

"And just what may I ask is so funny?"

"I guess we both will be forgoing taking our horses on any long rides for a few days, don't you think?"

"I suppose you are right about that," Ali agreed laughing.

"Okay enough on this subject because I have some really good news to tell you about this morning," Ali said grinning, as she put her hat back on and tied a perfect bow under her chin.

"Adam has agreed to let me work on the newspaper!"

"No, you're funning me, Alissa. Adam would never let you do that. Especially after the night we had in town."

"Well he did! He said he will be coming into town one day a week so I can come with him at that time and work on the paper. There is only one condition that he gave me."

"What's that?"

"He said I could only work on women's issues."

"Oh, well at least you still get to do your newspaper job. My father would never let me work outside of the house at _any_ job."

Looking slightly disappointed Jessie added, "But women's issues are rather boring."

Ali smiled at her friend as her bright eyes twinkled excitedly.

"Hey, don't look so disappointed. I know at first I thought great… sewing bees and bake sales and those kinds of things. But then I got excited as I started to realize that there are so many women's issues that need to be addressed here in town beside those things."

"There are?"

"Sure! Things like voting and working out of the home if you want too. Animal abuse is something I am also concerned about. Of course that isn't just a woman's issue, but it still could be one I could write about. The way some men treat their animals, _not_ to mention their wives and children is atrocious! Way too much abuse going on! And then of course there is birth control."

"BIRTH CONTROL! Oh my Lord, Alissa Anderson. The things that you say!" Jessica gasped, as she started to fan herself.

"You are right, I probably shouldn't address that issue until I am a married lady. Besides, it is a rather touchy subject so I may just skip that one for now."

Jessica just fanned harder as she said, "My daddy would have a fit and probably lock me in my room until I was forty if I even mentioned those words out loud."

"Yeah, I imagine Adam will have a few choice things to say to me about that subject if I bring it up in public! And Ben, well I wouldn't even want to be in the same room when he heard about it. But you know, sometimes you just have to stir the water a little bit," Ali grinned and winked at her friend.

"Stir the water? No, you want to create a whole tidal wave with your wild ideas, Alissa!"

"You are right, I just need to take baby steps at first. Let's see, what controversial issue shall I write about first?" Ali said with a teasing grin, as she rested her chin in her hand and tapped the side of her face thinking.

"Ladies."

Adam suddenly appeared in front of Alissa and Jessica and touched the brim of his hat.

"Oh, Adam! You startled me!" Alissa gasped, as she gave him a lop-sided grin.

"And just what have you two been conspiring to do today may I ask?"

Adam flashed his dimpled smile, then his eyebrow arched ever so slightly as their eyes met briefly while he noticed both girls starting to look uncomfortable. At first he had been only teasing, but after watching their expressions he was certain something was probably going on with these two.

"Why nothing, Adam. You are such a skeptic, my love. We were just talking about the fact that you told me I could work on the newspaper and I was telling Jessica how excited I am to be able to work."

"Yes, Adam, I think you are so wonderful to let her get a job. Most men would not be that understanding. You are quite the modern man for sure," Jessica pointed out, as she stood up and grabbed her purse off of the bench.

Ali walked over to where Adam was standing and took hold of his arm.

"Isn't he the most amazing man around? Not to mention easy on the eyes," Ali grinned, as she slowly looked Adam up and down, much to his embarrassment.

Wanting to change this subject rather quickly Adam responded, "So, are you ready to go, sweetheart? Pa is going to treat us to lunch in town and they are all waiting at the hotel for us."

"Yes I am ready. We were just discussing some women's issues for me to look into writing about and we are finished now."

It was all Jessica could do to keep a straight face at Ali's comment.

But being a true friend she just smiled and replied calmly,"Yes, I am so excited that Alissa will be writing about all the interesting women's issues here in town. And I can't wait to help her with any of her projects."

Looking over at Jessica and back at Ali Adam responded with a sense of firmness in his voice.

"I am sure you are, Jessica, but you two ladies need to stay out of trouble and no more visits to saloons in the middle of the night, alright?"

Ali looked up at Adam as her green eyes twinkled mischievously, "Of course we will stay out of trouble, darlin'. We have had our fill of saloons for a while, haven't we, Jessica?"

"Oh yes, we most certainly have. Now you two get going and have a wonderful time."

Adam's hazel eyes narrowed as he looked down at Alissa.

"Why am I getting an uneasy feeling about you working on the newspaper?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about. Just leave it all in my capable hands," Alissa answered reassuringly, as she looked over her shoulder and gave her friend a playful wink as she and Adam headed towards the hotel.

The End

* * *

That brings this story to an end, and once again I want to thank all of you that have read and reviewed Alissa's latest adventure. I hope you will let me know what you thought of this final chapter. I am so pleased that you enjoy her antics even though poor Adam is probably in for more gray hair.

So readers, do you want her to settle down and become the perfect proper lady, or do you want her to continue with her modern thinking and independent ways of trying to change this old fashioned world that she has found herself in? What do you think? ~ Sierra


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